ABSTRACT
Propranolol hydrochloride is a popular anti-hypertensive and pollutant of emerging concern because of potential ecological risks to aquatic environment. In this study, biosorption is presented as an advanced approach for propranolol uptake from aqueous media. The remaining biomass of alginate extraction from brown seaweed (RSF) was tested as biosorbent owing to its key binding sites, namely carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups. The high 93% removal efficiency achieved consolidates RSF as effective biosorbent for propranolol environmental remediation and values this waste material, which has been largely discarded in industry after alginate extraction. RSF had morphology, porosity, chemical composition, and thermal behavior characterized prior and post to application in propranolol biosorption. Molecular sieving effects were excluded by assessing the molecular geometry of propranolol. The kinetics was inspected by both rate laws and mass transfer models. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich equations were tested for experimental isotherms. Propranolol biosorption onto RSF was further inspected by thermodynamic parameters, including isosteric heat.
