Silver-iron beads of for removal of amoxicillin antibiotic from water using simulated permeable reactive barrier-column study

The innovative aspect of this study is synthesis of a novel sorbent (Ag/Fe -nanoparticles -sodium alginate beads) that can be employed for treating simulated groundwater polluted with amoxicillin (AMX) antibiotic in permeable reactive barrier (PRB) -continuous configuration.The beads are prepared using solid residues, especially the peels of pomegranate and leaves of sesban tree, to satisfy the sustainability concepts.The sorbent was prepared through manufacturing of nanoparticles from silver and iron layered double hydroxides and; then, immobilization the nanoparticles with sodium alginate.The particles have been manufactured through mixing silver -iron ions obtained with peels of pomegranate and leaves of sesban tree respectively via precipitation method.The suitable conditions for bead preparation to obtain maximum removal efficiency of AMX are molar ratio (Ag/Fe) = 0.5, solution pH = 9, and silver to iron nanoparticles dosage = 7 g per 100 mL of sodium alginate.The characterization tests of beads prove that nanoparticles can support antibiotic sorption.Results certified that PRB can restrict the migration of AMX and its longevity is correlated directly with the thickness of beads; in addition, it is inversely correlated with inlet concentration and water flowrate.The measurements of continuous tests for removing of AMX have fitted with "Bohart-Adams", "Yan", "Belter-Cussler-Hu" and "Clark" models.Such models have been plotted the "breakthrough curves" for contaminant transport along the packed beads.Belter-Cussler-Hu is more suitable model in the description of the outcomes obtained from continuous tests.