Biosorption of Oxytetracycline with Waste Pine Tree Needles

In this study, it was aimed to remove Oxytetracycline (Oxy), one of the pharmaceutical wastes, with the powder of pine tree (Pinus nigra Arn.) needle waste (Pn-nw). Experimental data obtained from batch adsorption studies carried out at pH 5.0 ±0.5 and temperature of 23±2oC were tested with Pseudo first order, Pseudo second order and Intraparticle diffusion kinetic models and Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin isotherm models and also error functions (Error Sum of Squares (SSE), Sum of Absolute Errors (SAE) and Average relative errors (ARE)). Furthermore, to support the adsorption of Oxy onto Pn-nw's, the characterization of both raw and Oxy charged particles was done by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses. The most appropriate kinetic model in the study was determined to be the Pseudo second order with an R2 value of 0.999 and the Freundlich isotherm model with an R2 value of 0.991. Additionally, the amount of Oxy removed per unit Pn-nw (qmax) was calculated as 30.35 mgOxy/gPn-nw. The results show that Pn-nw is a very promising and environmentally friendly adsorbent for Oxy removal.