Simultaneous removal of tetracycline and Cu(ii) by adsorption and coadsorption using oxidized activated carbon

Co-contamination of antibiotics and heavy metals prevails in the environment. To overcome the obstacle of low metal uptake on activated carbon and to achieve simultaneous removal of tetracycline (TC) and Cu(ii) from water, coconut shell based granular activated carbon (GAC) treated with nitric acid was utilized. GAC property characterization showed that oxidation treatment distinctly decreased the surface area of GAC and significantly increased the content of oxygen containing functional groups. The oxidized GAC exhibited greater adsorption capacity for individual TC and Cu(ii). Kinetics studies demonstrated that although the overall removal rate of coexisting TC and Cu(ii) decreased, the ultimate removal efficiency was further enhanced in the binary system. The adsorption isotherms were well described by Langmuir and Freundlich models. Moreover, the maximum adsorption capacities of coexisting TC and Cu(ii) with oxidized GAC kept increasing within a pH range of 3.0–6.0, indicating an electrostatic repulsion mechanism as well as a competition for adsorption sites. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that the enhanced removal of TC and Cu(ii) was very likely as a result of coadsorption by forming TC–Cu(ii) complexes bridging between the adsorbate and the adsorbent.