Synthesis of Date Seed-Based Activated Carbon for Sulfadiazine Removal: Optimization, Isotherm and Bed-Column Studies
Sulfadiazine (SDZ) is a pharmaceutical pollutant frequently detected in water, posing significant health and environmental risks. To address this issue, the current research explore the use of a novel adsorbent, date seed-based activated carbon (DSAC), for the effective removal of SDZ. DSAC was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) under preparation conditions of 2.30 minutes activation time, 490 W radiation power, and an impregnation ratio (IR) of 1.60 g/g, achieving a estimated SDZ removal of 94.30% (experimental: 90.70%; error: 3.90%) with a DSAC yield of 26.22% (experimental: 24.34%; error: 7.73%). Characterization revealed above average BET surface area (BET-SA) of 1156.85 m²/g, a mesopore surface area (MESO-SA) of 843.11 m²/g, a total pore volume (TPV) of 0.4896 cm³/g, and an average pore diameter (APD) of 2.93 nm. Adsorption studies indicated a maximum capacity (Qm) of 49.53 mg/g for SDZ, with adsorption behaviour most fittingly portrayed by the Freundlich isotherm model. In fixed-bed column experiments, a flow rate of 10 mL/min, an initial concentration of 10 mg/L, and a bed height of 8 cm achieved the longest breakthrough and exhaustion times, demonstrating the highest adsorption efficiency. The study underscores DSAC’s strong potential for application in continuous fixed-bed treatment systems and establishes it as a promising and sustainable adsorbent for mitigating pharmaceutical contamination in aquatic environments.