This work investigates the competitive adsorption under dynamic and equilibrium conditions of ibuprofen (IBU) and amoxicillin (AMX), two widely consumed pharmaceuticals, on nanoporous carbons of different characteristics. Batch adsorption experiments of pure components in water and their binary mixtures were carried out to measure both adsorption equilibrium and kinetics, and dynamic tests were performed to validate the simultaneous removal of the mixtures in breakthrough experiments. The equilibrium adsorption capacities evaluated from pure component solutions were higher than those measured in dynamic conditions, and were found to depend on the porous features of the adsorbent and the nature of the specific/dispersive interactions that are controlled by the solution pH, density of surface change on the carbon and ionization of the pollutant. A marked roll-up effect was observed for AMX retention on the hydrophobic carbons, not seen for the functionalized adsorbent likely due to the lower affinity of amoxicillin towards the carbon adsorbent. Dynamic adsorption of binary mixtures from wastewater of high salinity and alkalinity showed a slight increase in IBU uptake and a reduced adsorption of AMX, demonstrating the feasibility of the simultaneous removal of both compounds from complex water matrices.
The
potentialities in the use of biochars prepared by steam-assisted
slow pyrolysis as adsorbents of gases of strategic interest (N2, CO2, and CH4) and their mixtures were
explored. The biochars prepared from Populus nigra wood and cellulose fibers exhibited a narrow microporosity, with
average pore sizes ranging between 0.55 and 0.6 nm. The micropore
volume increased with the pyrolysis temperature, allowing CO2 and CH4 uptakes at room temperature between 1.5 and 2.5
mmol/g and between 0.1 and 0.5 mmol/g, respectively. These values
are in line with those from the literature on biomass-derived carbon-based
materials, exhibiting much higher porous features than those reported
herein. As for the separation of CO2/N2 and
CO2/CH4 gas mixtures, data showed that the prepared
biochars exhibited good selectivities for CO2 over both
N2 and CH4: between ca. 34 and 119 for a CO2/N2 mixture in typical post-combustion conditions
(15:85, v/v) and between 14 and 34 for a CO2/CH4 mixture typical of natural gas upgrading (30:70, v/v).
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