Valorization of Ginger Waste-Derived Biochar for Simultaneous Multiclass Antibiotics Remediation in Aqueous Medium

Abstract

The presence of antibiotics in the aqueous environment has been a serious concern primarily due to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in diverse microbial populations. To overcome the rising AMR concerns, antibiotic decontamination of the environmental matrices may play a vital role. The present study investigates the use of zinc-activated ginger-waste derived biochar for the removal of six antibiotics belonging to three different classes, viz., β-lactams, fluoroquinolones, and tetracyclines from the water matrix. The adsorption capacities of activated ginger biochar (AGB) for the concurrent removal of the tested antibiotics were investigated at different contact times, temperatures, pH values, and initial concentrations of the adsorbate and adsorbent doses. AGB demonstrated high adsorption capacities of 5.00, 17.42, 9.66, 9.24, 7.15, and 5.40 mg/g for amoxicillin, oxacillin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, chlortetracycline, and doxycycline, respectively. Further, among the employed isotherm models, the Langmuir model fitted well for all the antibiotics except oxacillin. The kinetic data of the adsorption experiments followed the pseudo-second order kinetics suggesting chemisorption as the preferred adsorption mechanism. Adsorption studies at different temperatures were conducted to obtain the thermodynamic characteristics suggesting a spontaneous exothermic adsorption phenomenon. AGB being a waste-derived cost-effective material shows promising antibiotic decontamination from the water environment.

Enhanced Peroxydisulfate (PDS) Activation for Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) Degradation by Modified Sludge Biochar: Focusing on the Role of Functional Groups

“…It was also instrumental in the generation of 1 O 2 during PDS decomposition. Consistent with previous studies, the signal intensities of the characteristic peaks associated with C=O (1615 cm −1 ) and C-O (1020 cm −1 ) were substantially reduced in the TSBC used [51,55]. This observation suggested the active participation of O-containing groups in TSBC in facilitating the PDS activation process for SMX degradation.…”

Biochar-Based Strategies for Antibiotics Removal: Mechanisms, Factors, and Application

“…Furthermore, at pH 6.0–7.0, the surface of Fe/Zn-biochar was negatively charged, while tetracycline was in a neutral form, resulting in the lowest electrostatic repulsion and the highest adsorption capacity . Meghani et al demonstrated that the zinc-activated ginger-waste biochar showed high adsorption capacities, effectively removing oxacillin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, chlortetracycline, and doxycycline from the aqueous, with a removal efficiency of more than 95%. This is attributed to ZnCl 2 , a Lewis acid, serving as a dehydration agent during pyrolysis, promoting an increased surface area and biomass porosity of biochar.…”