Efficient fluoxetine removal from water using Tunisian clay as adsorbent and its regeneration through NaOH-activated peroxymonosulfate

• Tunisian purified clay shows high fluoxetine adsorption capacity of 390.28 mg/g. • Adsorption follows pseudo-second order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm model. • Clay characterization reveals key morphological and compositional properties. • PMS-NaOH regeneration maintains clay efficiency over multiple adsorption cycles. • Purified clay offers promising solution for pharmaceutical removal from water. Pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments pose significant environmental and public health risks. This pioneering study introduces a novel approach to removing fluoxetine (FLX) through adsorption onto Tunisian purified clay (PC), while exploring an innovative adsorbent regeneration method via Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). The adsorbent material was characterized using various techniques to determine its: morphological structure, physical properties, mineralogical composition and chemical composition. Key adsorption parameters (contact time, pH, and initial concentration) were optimized, the optimization process revealed an impressive maximum adsorption capacity of 390.28 mg/g for FLX by PC. The experimental data best fit with the pseudo-second order and Langmuir models, these findings provide insights into the adsorption mechanism and surface characteristics of the PC. The PC regenerated with PMS activated by NaOH is an interesting innovation in the field of reusable clay materials, maintaining a high performance across four cycles, with efficiency dropping only from 94 % to 64 %. The study’s findings represent a significant advancement in developing sustainable solutions for pharmaceutical removal from aquatic environments. By combining a highly efficient, locally-sourced adsorbent with a novel regeneration method, this research opens new avenues for addressing the growing concern of pharmaceutical contamination in water bodies, offering a promising, eco-friendly approach to water treatment technologies.