Adsorption behavior of chloramphenicol on an activated carbon from pomelo peel using KHCO3 activator

Overuse of antibiotics cause environmental pollution, and activated carbon adsorption was an effective way to remove antibiotics from polluted water. Herein, a cost-effective biomass carbon adsorbent for adsorption of chloramphenicol (CHL) was prepared from pomelo peel using KHCO3 activator. The activated carbon boasted a significant specific surface area (SBET) of 1608 m2·g-1 with a maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) for CHL reaching 549.5 mg·g-1. The effect of adsorption behavior on adsorption capacity was studied. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir model. Combined with FT-IR and XPS methods, the adsorption action included both physical adsorption and chemical adsorption. The rate-limiting step was diffusion through boundary layer. The adsorption mechanism mainly included processes pore filling, functional group binding, hydrogen bond and π-π interaction. Thermodynamic parameters demonstrated the spontaneous and exothermic properties. This work demonstrated the rational application of waste biomass carbon for efficient adsorption of antibiotics, which can provide a new help for antibiotic removal from polluted water.