Study on the adsorption performance of amoxicillin by hydrothermally modified coconut shell activated carbon

Abstract BACKGROUND Utilizing biowaste‐derived carbon (C) materials to remediate antibiotic‐rich wastewater has considerable ecological significance in the broader ecological cycle. In this study, coconut shell activated carbon (AC) was modified using a potassium hydroxide (KOH) hydrothermal method, and the influence of modified coconut shell AC on the adsorption of amoxicillin at different particle sizes and treatment temperatures was investigated. In addition, the adsorption kinetics of amoxicillin on different modified coconut shell AC was studied. RESULTS The study found that unmodified coconut shell AC itself had a certain adsorption capacity for amoxicillin, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 22.43 mg g −1 . After hydrothermal‐alkali modification, the adsorption capacity of coconut shell AC for amoxicillin was greatly improved, with an adsorption capacity increase of 221%. In addition, the adsorption kinetic fitting results showed that the adsorption process of amoxicillin on coconut shell AC was more consistent with the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model. CONCLUSION The optimal modification condition for coconut shell AC was to treat coconut shell AC with a particle size of 80–120‐mesh at 160 °C. The findings of this study could offer a green and environmentally sustainable approach for amoxicillin‐contaminated wastewater treatment, and also could provide a certain theoretical basis for the application of biowaste resources in organic wastewater treatment. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).