Efficient removal of Salbutamol and Atenolol by an electronegative silanized β-cyclodextrin adsorbent

Abstract Salbutamol (SAL) and Atenolol (ATL), two common medical ingredients acting on adrenal receptor, are often used for treating chronic illnesses. However, the incomplete metabolism in organism and widespread utilization lead to unneglected problems of water pollution, which the traditional treatment plant can not satisfactorily deal with. For efficient removal of SAL and ATL, a kind of silanized β-cyclodextrin compound adsorbents (GD-EDTS) was designed based on the ionization features of two pollutants. Through an introduction of rich carboxyl groups by N-[(3-Trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine triaceticacid trisodium salt (EDTS), GD-EDTS surface obtains an appropriate electronegativity to meet different forms of IOCs and maintain a good adsorption performance in a wide pH range. The maximum adsorption capacities of SAL and ATL are 140.24 mg/g and 236.92 mg/g, respectively. And a remarkable rise is known from the adsorption capacity of SAL and ATL increasing to 162% and 706%, respectively, after EDTS modification. Adsorption data fit the Sips adsorption isotherms and the pseudo second-order kinetic model, and a weak competitive behavior between SAL and ATL indicates two pollutants can be removed simultaneously by GD-EDTS in their binary system. In this work, GD-EDTS is suggested to be an efficient adsorbent in the removal of SAL and ATL.