Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: A Sustainable Method for the Removal of Antibiotics from Water

Introduction: The presence of antibiotic residues in the aquatic environment is a likely contributor to the current increase in antibiotic resistance, posing a significant threat to global health. This study investigated the use of a low-cost and sustainable material based on sawdust with the purpose of removing rifampicin residues from water. Methods: The sawdust was pretreated with 2M sulfuric acid and was characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), a Mastersizer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an elemental analyser, and the pH point of zero charge (pH_pzc). The batch adsorption process was conducted using both raw and treated sawdust to determine the effect of contact time, temperature, pH, adsorbent dosage, and the initial concentration of antibiotic dissolved in water. Results and Discussion: The results revealed that the chemical pretreatment of raw sawdust significantly improved its adsorption capacity. The highest removal efficiency of 65% was achieved using an adsorbent dosage of 31.3 g/L. The thermodynamic studies demonstrated that the process was spontaneous and governed by physisorption within the studied temperature range (293.15 K-318.15 K), being more favourable at higher temperatures. The interactions between the functional groups of sawdust and the rifampicin molecules included electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, and π-π interactions. Conclusions: This research highlights the potential of utilizing waste as a valuable and effective adsorbent of residual antibiotics from water, thus contributing to the sustainable practices of solid waste management and water treatment.