Removal of the Amoxicillin from wastewater using Graphene Oxide; Thermodynamics and Kinetics Study and Kinetics Study

Significant concerns are raised over pharmaceutical contamination in water bodies. The present article explores the redemption of Amoxicillin, a pharmaceutical micropollutant in wastewater discharged from hospitals. Graphene oxide (GO), derived from graphite powder, was applied using a modified Hummer method. Different analytical techniques, such as XRD, SEGM, FTIR, TGA, and Point of Zero Charge (PZC), were used to characterize the GO. Results showed that GO was an efficient absorbent for removing Amoxicillin from wastewater samples prepared at laboratory scale. SEM exhibited that the Amoxicillin firmly deposited on the graphene oxide surface at pH 2 while lower at higher pH, showing that the removal was pH dependent. The adsorption isotherm fits the Langmuir model, showing maximum adsorption at 278K, with X_m= 322.5mg/g. The kinetics showed that adsorption favoured a pseudo second order model. The proposed mechanism of the process was reported.