Abstract
Antibiotics are emerging contaminants which affect human health, livestock, aquatic life and also resist biological wastewater treatment. Therefore, it is imperative to remove them from wastewaters. The present investigation is aimed at removal of sulfamethaoxazole (SMX) using adsorption and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and to determine efficacy of various adsorbents and study their adsorption kinetics. The aqueous solution of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) was treated using GAC, PAC and activated alumina. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) were conducted using photolysis (UV treatment) and photolysis with H2O2 (UV + H2O2 treatment). Adsorption of SMX on GAC and PAC was found to be rapid. Adsorption of SMX on GAC and PAC followed pseudo first order kinetics. PAC was found to be more effective. Removal of SMX after 120 min at a dose of 5 g/L using PAC, GAC and activated alumina was 73.4%, 34% and 15.5%, respectively. In case of PAC, only intraparticle diffusion was operating, whereas for GAC both intraparticle diffusion and surface adsorption were operating concurrently. Removal of SMX using UV treatment and UV treatment in presence of H2O2 was found to be 7.65% after 80 min and 7.67% after 110 min, respectively. Activated carbon was found to have superior behaviour as compared to activated alumina for the adsorption of SMX. Adsorption has been found more effective as compared to UV treatment and UV treatment with H2O2.