Effective adsorption of diclofenac and naproxen from water using fixed-bed column loaded with composite of heavy sugarcane ash and polyethylene terephthalate.

The contamination of water by pharmaceutical pollutants is a major issue these days due to excessive use of these ingredients in modern life. This study evaluated the adsorption and effectiveness of a low-cost composite prepared from heavy sugarcane ash (HSA) fused with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and functionalized with iron (Fe3+) in a dynamic system through a fixed-bed column. The solution of synthetic drugs was prepared and placed in a reservoir, using a peristaltic pump the solution is run onto the fixed bed column at a flow rate of 2 mL min-1. Saturation time and adsorption capacity were evaluated by centrifugation and extraction after a regular interval of 2 h from the adsorption column. The samples were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the data was modeled for quantification. For DIC removal, an adsorption capacity of 324.34 µg. g-1 and a saturation time of 22 h were observed, while the adsorption capacity of NAP was 956.49 µg. g-1, with a saturation time of 8 h. Thus, the PETSCA/Fe3+ adsorbent proved to be quite efficient for removing the pharmaceutical pollutants, with a longer period of operation for DIC removal. These findings suggested that a highly efficient bed column made from a less expensive waste material and could be used to remove hazardous pharmaceutical contaminants.

Diclofenac removal in water supply by adsorption on composite low-cost material.

This work objective was to evaluate batch adsorption processes using polyethylene terephthalate composite (PTC) material, sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA) functionalized with iron oxide (Fe3+) (PTCSBA/ Fe3+) in the adsorption of 1000 µg  L-1 of diclofenac sodium (DIC) in synthetic solution, simulating water supply. The batch test was started by determining the adsorbent mass (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 g) to remove 1000 µg L-1 of DIC, followed by the adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm assays, evaluating the reaction rate and adsorption capacity, respectively. The PTCSBA/ Fe3+ mass that had the best efficiency in the DIC removal was 0.3 g, the pseudo second-order kinetic model (PSO) was the one that best fit the study having a determination coefficient (R2) equals to 0.97. The PTCSBA/ Fe3+ has good characteristics for DIC adsorption, achieving a 93% removal rate of sodium diclofenac. The composite is a low-cost adsorbent, 0.08 cents per kilogram of material, becoming a material with satisfactory characteristics for the removal of DIC. Therefore, it is recommended to use PTCSBA/ Fe3+ as adsorbent material in small water filter systems in order to remove DIC due to the low cost of the composite.