Enhancement of Adsorption of Paracetamol Drug on Carbon Nanotubes concerning Wastewater Treatment
Abstract
It is essential to eliminate antibiotics from water due to their possible harm to living creatures and the growth of resistant microorganisms. The present study focuses on paracetamol inhibition utilizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Fourier transform infrared, field emission-scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques were used to study the fabricated CNTs’ physical and chemical properties. Several concentrations of medication (10-100 mg L-1), pH solution (2.2–10.2), the weight of CNTs (0.002-0.08 g), and temperature solution (10-30 oC) were used to estimate the adsorption studies. The obtained results indicated that a concentration of 50 mg L-1, a pH of 6.6, an adsorbent amount of 0.02 g, and a contact time of 2 h are optimal conditions for removing 95.40% of the drug from water. The results of the adsorption study indicate that the percentage of removal increases as the weight of the surfaces increases. The thermodynamic factors (∆Go), (∆Ho), and (∆So) were estimated, and the negative values of ∆Go indicated that the removal method was spontaneous at various temperatures. The correlation coefficient value at R2 = 0.98881 indicates that the adsorption method has high applicability concerning the second-order model. In contrast, the applicability of the first-order model and Elkovich equation are moderate, as indicated by the correlation coefficient values of R2 = 0.70844 and R2 = 0.84540, respectively. Based on the findings, the prepared CNTs may serve as a promising, environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and effective material for paracetamol drugs.