In this study, a new adsorbent derived from sunflower husk powder and coated in CuO nanoparticles (CSFH) was investigated to evaluate the simultaneous adsorption of Levofloxacin (LEV), Meropenem (MER), and Tetracycline (TEC) from an aqueous solution. Significant improvements in the adsorption capacity of the sunflower husk were identified after the powder particles had been coated in CuO nanoparticles. Kinetic data were correlated using a pseudo-second-order model, and was successful for the three antibiotics. Moreover, high compatibility was identified between the LEV, MER, and TEC, isotherm data, and the Langmuir model, which produced a better fit to suit the isotherm curves. In addition, the spontaneous and exothermic nature of the adsorption process was crucial for transforming the three antibiotics into CSFH. The greatest CSFH adsorption capacity was in MER (131.83 mg/g), followed by TEC (96.95 mg/g), and LEV (62.24 mg/g). These findings thus indicate that CSFH is one of the most effective and efficient adsorbents to use for eliminating wastewater contaminated with antibiotic residue.

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Meropenem (MER) antibiotic is removed from an aqueous solution using Mg-Al-layered double hydroxide (Mg/Al-LDHs) which serves to functionalize the principal object of enquiry in this paper–sunflower husks (SFH).  The former sample demonstrated a 51% removal of MER while the latter demonstrated a 67% removal of MER. One of the areas explored was the impact of the rise calcination temperatures resulted in a concurrent increase in the surface area and porosity of LDHs which, in turn, provoked a heightened removal efficacy of MER at calcination temperatures between 300 °C and 350 °C. Nonetheless, LDHs experienced structural deformation and thus, diminished removal efficacy of MER when the calcination temperature was over 350 °C. The ideal adsorption conditions were determined via the undertaking of multiple batch studies. Adsorption process was implemented successfully with removal efficiency of 98% under optimal conditions. The adsorption of MER was found to be regulated by the chemisorption mechanism of the best suited second order kinetic model. The adsorption process seemed to be heterogeneous and on a multi-layer as suggested by the high determination coefficient with Freundlich model. Enhanced functional and structural properties were witnessed in this novel adsorbent’s adsorption capacity, thereby highlighting its proficiency as an alternative.