R. Ghorbali, L. Sellaoui, F.E. Soetaredjo, H. Ghalla, F. Bessaha, A. Bonilla-Petriciolet, A.B. Lamine, S. Ismadji
The adsorption of two relevant antibiotics, namely tetracycline (TTC) and vancomycin (VC), on activated carbon F400 was analyzed in both single and binary systems. The single experimental adsorption capacities ranged from 161 to 179 mg/g for TTC and from 163 to 221 mg/g for VC at pH 6.9 and 30–50 °C, while they ranged from 157 to 161 mg/g and 163 to 209 mg/g for the same compounds in binary solutions. The removal of both pollutants was exothermic, and antagonistic adsorption was observed in the binary solutions with a reduction of 6% and 3% for the adsorption capacities of TTC and VC, respectively. VC significantly affected the removal of TTC in binary solutions. Statistical physics adsorption models were applied to characterize the steric and energy parameters associated with the adsorption mechanisms of both antibiotics. The modeling results suggested the presence of physisorption interactions and multimolecular adsorption specially for binary systems. This manuscript reports new results for understanding the performance of activated carbon to remove emerging organic pollutants from water. © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Iranian Society of Environmentalists (IRSEN) and Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University 2026.
Laboratory of Quantum and Statistical Physics, LR18ES18, Faculty of Sciences of Monastir, Monastir University, Monastir, Tunisia; CRMN, Centre for Research on Microelectronics and Nanotechnology of Sousse, NANOMISENE, LR16CRMN01, Sousse, 4054, Tunisia; Department of Chemical Engineering, Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University, Kalijudan 37, Surabaya, 60114, Indonesia; Department of Process Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University, Mostaganem, Algeria; Instituto Tecnológico de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, 20256, Mexico