Enhanced Adsorption Performance of Oxytetracycline by Desugared Reed Residues

The performance of oxytetracycline adsorption by untreated reed roots, stems and leaves, as well as the desugared reed roots, stems and leaves, was investigated with scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis and surface area analysis to understand the adsorption mechanism. The results showed that the adsorption capacities of untreated reed were 416.35 mg/kg for roots, 341.92 mg/kg for stems and 280.21 mg/kg for leaves, and can be increased significantly by a factor of 8–12 after desugarization. The pseudo-first-order kinetic model was more suitable for describing the adsorption kinetics of reed residues, and the isothermal adsorption process was fitted well by both the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The thermodynamic process suggested that the adsorption was a spontaneous endothermic reaction, and mainly physical adsorption-dominated. The desugared reed tissues had a larger surface area and smaller pore area, and the aromaticity of reed residues increased; on the other hand, the polarity and hydrophilicity decreased after desugarization, thus revealing the mechanism of enhanced OTC(oxytetracycline) adsorption by desugared reed residues. This study suggests that the reed residues contribute the complex adsorption ability for both inorganic and organic contaminates. Corruption of the reed can enhance the adsorption; thus, protecting the natural reed residue and letting it naturally corrupt, rather than artificially cleaning it up, can effectively promote the adsorption of pollutants in the environment and protect environmental and public health.