Repurposing bamboo scraps as carbon adsorbents for cephalexin decontamination in wastewater

Abstract Wastewater contaminants pose serious environmental threats due to their enduring presence and harmful effects on ecosystems, making it essential to implement robust treatment methods before releasing effluents into natural environments. Among the diverse range of treatment technologies available, adsorption processes have proven to be both economically viable and exceptionally effective solutions for wastewater remediation. This research examines the performance of zinc chloride-activated bamboo carbon (BAC) for eliminating Cephalexin antibiotic compounds from contaminated water systems. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller characterization demonstrated that BAC exhibits remarkable structural properties, featuring a large specific surface area of 790 m 2 /g and nanopores measuring 0.8 nm in diameter. Surface morphology analysis through scanning electron microscopy, combined with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, revealed diverse functional group distributions across the BAC surface, while zeta potential measurements confirmed negative surface charging characteristics. Laboratory findings demonstrated that BAC exhibited peak Cephalexin uptake performance of 37.56 mg/g. The adsorption behaviour was successfully modelled using Langmuir isotherms (R 2 = 0.9647) and pseudo-second-order kinetic equations (R 2 = 0.999), demonstrating strong agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental observations. These findings establish BAC as a promising material for mitigating antibiotic contamination in water treatment applications. The development of BAC technology represents a significant advancement in sustainable water treatment, as it transforms agricultural waste into a high-performance adsorbent that can simultaneously address both waste management and water pollution challenges. This innovative approach offers a cost-effective alternative to conventional treatment methods while providing superior removal efficiency, positioning it as a next-generation solution for pharmaceutical contaminant remediation in developing nations where antibiotic pollution is increasingly problematic.