Antibiotic Removal Capacity of Coconut Activated Carbon from Microwave-Assisted Synthesis

Abstract

Vietnam is one of the agricultural coconut exporting countries in the world. Therefore, by-products from coconut were discharged into the environment a lot. Using coconut as activated carbon is one of the ways to increase the value of coconut products. In addition, activated carbon from coconut can handle pollutants from the environment. In this study, activated carbon from coconut was synthesized by microwave-assisted method to treat the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin. The physicochemical properties of activated carbon were analyzed using FTIR, XRD, and BET methods. The semi-morphic structure and functional groups have shown structural characteristics. The factors affecting the adsorption process, such as pH, concentration, and dosage, were also evaluated. Fixed parameters include time 20 min and temperature 30 °C. The adsorption process was also evaluated with kinetic and isothermal models of adsorption. The kinetic and isothermal models suitable for the material were Pseudo-first-order and Langmuir. The influencing parameters would be optimized by the RSM model. Optimal parameters are pH 3.97, concentration 85.67 mg.L-1, content 0.51 g.L-1. From the optimal parameters, the adsorption capacity and treatment efficiency were also predicted to be 73.75 mg.g-1 and 42.6%. This helps the process of treatment and adsorption of pollutants to achieve the highest efficiency.