Efficient and Reusable Activated Carbon from  Aframomum angustifolium  Fruits’ Shells for Removal of Ceftriaxone from Aqueous Solution: Adsorption Isotherms, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics Studies

Baraka Alfaksad Kasazi; Alinanuswe Joel Mwakalesi; Emmy Solomon Lema

doi:10.22146/ijc.108042

Efficient and Reusable Activated Carbon from Aframomum angustifolium Fruits’ Shells for Removal of Ceftriaxone from Aqueous Solution: Adsorption Isotherms, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics Studies

https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.108042

Baraka Alfaksad Kasazi⁽¹⁾, Alinanuswe Joel Mwakalesi^(2*), Emmy Solomon Lema⁽³⁾

(1) Department of Chemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3038, Mazimbu-Morogoro, Tanzania
(2) Department of Chemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3038, Mazimbu-Morogoro, Tanzania
(3) Department of Chemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3038, Mazimbu-Morogoro, Tanzania
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

The accumulation of ceftriaxone antibiotics in aquatic systems is a growing global concern due to their potential risks to human and ecological health. The current study investigates the synthesis, characterization, and application of activated carbon (AC-FPAA-H₃PO₄) made from the shells of Aframomum angustifolium fruits. AC-FPAA-H₃PO₄ was synthesized using chemical activation (H₃PO₄, 4 M) followed by pyrolysis at 600 °C for 1 h and characterized using BET, FTIR, and SEM-EDX. AC-FPAA-H₃PO₄ exhibited a surface area of 1895.6 m²/g, which allowed for its reuse in 5 consecutive cycles without requiring active site regeneration. The optimal removal efficiency (97.8%) was achieved at pH 2, 298.15 K, 100 rpm, 20 g/L adsorbent dosage, and 200 mg/L ceftriaxone concentration. The adsorption process was described by Langmuir (R² = 0.9862) and Freundlich (R² = 0.9833) isotherms, and the kinetics were fitted to the pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption was spontaneous (ΔG = −6.80 kJ/mol) and exothermic (ΔH = −4.43 kJ/mol), with increased randomness at the solid-solution interface (ΔS = 7.69 J/mol K). The adsorbent demonstrated high efficiency in removing ceftriaxone from real water samples, including river water (99.36%) and well water (96.92%). The findings suggest AC-FPAA-H₃PO₄ is a promising adsorbent for removing ceftriaxone from an aqueous environment.

Keywords

Aframomum angustifolium; biowaste; activated carbon; ceftriaxone; antibiotic

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/ijc.108042