Using natural aluminosilicate (vermiculite) sorbent for purifying waste water from antibiotics

Abstract

The problem of wastewater treatment from residual antibiotics is of particular relevance, since these drugs are used in many agricultural sectors. Antibiotics get into water, animal and human bodies, where they can accumulate negatively affecting health. The aim of this article is to study the possibility of using natural aluminosilicate vermiculite sorbent from the Koksharovskoye field (Primorsky Region) for purifying fish processing and fish farming enterprises’ waste water from antibiotics (chloramphenicol, tetracycline, cefazolin, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, cefepime and and ciprofloxacin) under static and dynamic conditions. The study was carried out on a model wastewater system with injected antibiotics. The purification ability of the model system using the method of spectrophotometric antibiotics detection is analyzed. Under static conditions, the total content of antibiotics varied from 0.25 mg to 1.00 mg per 1 g of sorbent. Under dynamic conditions, the antibiotic content was 0.025 mg per 1 g of sorbent. High values of absorption for all studied antibiotics, except for chloramphenicol, were achieved both in static and dynamic modes. For chloramphenicol, when examined under static conditions, the maximum absorption rate was 45% with the minimum total concentration of antibiotics. With an increase in the load on the sorbent, the degree of absorption decreased to 3%. Thus, vermiculite modified with 7% hydrochloric acid is a promising sorbent for cleaning water bodies from residual antibiotics.