Toward Cleaner Ecosystems; Elimination of Paracetamol Drug via Mesoporous Activated Carbon Date Pits

The purpose of this study is to remove pharmaceuticals drugs from water due to high potential impact on human health. Specifically, non-prescriptive drugs like paracetamol drug, which cause infections to various human organs like liver, kidneys and immunity system. Activated carbon (AC) was synthesized from date pits via thermal and chemical carbon activation using air at high temperature and phosphoric acid respectively, three ratios of (AC:Acid) were prepared to adsorb the most commonly used antipyretic and analgesic drug "Paracetamol" from aqueous solutions. The experiments were done in the department of Chemical Engineering and department of Chemistry, between September 2018 and August 2019. Characterization of the activated carbon (AC) was carried out through surface area analysis (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), spectroscopic Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), thermal (Thermogravimetric analysis TGA) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG), and microscopic (scanning electron microscopy SEM) techniques. Several parameters for Paracetamol adsorption from aqueous solutions were tested, and the optimum parameters were as follow: contact time= 150 min, pH= 7.0, temperature= 25ºC, (AC:Acid) ratio = 1:1. The equilibrium data were fitted to different adsorption isotherms, the two-step Langmuir isotherm gave the best fit to the data, and the pseudo-second-order model represented the adsorption process as dynamic studies illustrated. Thermodynamic parameters showed the process was exothermic (-15.7 kJ/mol) and physisorption. The results of the experiments showed the removal efficiency using AC (1:1) ratio was 92.9%, and the entire removal was attained using 16 g/L. The maximum paracetamol uptake at equilibrium was 165 mg/g. The used carbon in the adsorption process can be cleaned and reused again (regeneration), the regeneration efficiencies were 60% for hot water method and 68% for methanol method. This clearly helps toward cleaner ecosystems.