Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(12), 1495; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121495
Efficient Removal of Tetracycline from Aqueous Media with a Fe3O4 Nanoparticles@graphene Oxide Nanosheets Assembly
1
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
2
Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
3
College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
4
Institute of Bast Fiber Crops, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha 410205, China
5
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
6
Key Laboratory of Environmental Biology and Pollution Control (Hunan University), Ministry of Education, Changsha 410082, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 16 October 2017 / Revised: 23 November 2017 / Accepted: 28 November 2017 / Published: 1 December 2017
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Science and Engineering)
Abstract
A readily separated composite was prepared via direct assembly of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles onto the surface of graphene oxide (GO) (labeled as Fe3O4@GO) and used as an adsorbent for the removal of tetracycline (TC) from wastewater. The effects of external environmental conditions, such as pH, ionic strength, humic acid (HA), TC concentration, and temperature, on the adsorption process were studied. The adsorption data were analyzed by kinetics and isothermal models. The results show that the Fe3O4@GO composite has excellent sorptive properties and can efficiently remove TC. At low pH, the adsorption capacity of Fe3O4@GO toward TC decreases slowly with increasing pH value, while the adsorption capacity decreases rapidly at higher pH values. The ionic strength has insignificant effect on TC adsorption. The presence of HA affects the affinity of Fe3O4@GO to TC. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model and Langmuir model fit the adsorption data well. When the initial concentration of TC is 100 mg/L, a slow adsorption process dominates. Film diffusion is the rate limiting step of the adsorption. Importantly, Fe3O4@GO has good regeneration performance. The above results are of great significance to promote the application of Fe3O4@GO in the treatment of antibiotic wastewater. View Full-TextKeywords:
tetracycline; antibiotic wastewater; Fe3O4@GO; humic acid; ionic strength
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Hu, X.; Zhao, Y.; Wang, H.; Tan, X.; Yang, Y.; Liu, Y. Efficient Removal of Tetracycline from Aqueous Media with a Fe3O4 Nanoparticles@graphene Oxide Nanosheets Assembly. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 1495.
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