Removal of Antibiotic Rifampicin from Water Using PLA/TiO₂ Photocatalytic Microsponges.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Growing demand for effective wastewater treatment strategies to remove antibiotics.
• Antibiotic residues in water pose significant environmental and health risks.
• Need for advanced materials with combined adsorptive and photocatalytic properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and investigate hybrid adsorptive-photocatalytic polymer-based materials for antibiotic removal.
• To synthesize poly-(lactic acid)/titanium dioxide (PLA/TiO2) composite microparticles.
• To evaluate the performance of these microparticles in removing the antibiotic rifampicin (RIF) from water.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of PLA/TiO2 composite microparticles using emulsification and sol-gel methods.
• Investigation of adsorptive-photocatalytic performance for RIF removal.
• Assessment of adsorption kinetics using various kinetic models.
• Evaluation of RIF removal efficiency under UV irradiation.

Main Results:

• Synthesized PLA/TiO2 microparticles exhibited varying adsorption capacities: 2.03 ± 0.16 mg g−1 (mixed crystalline TiO2) and 17.51 ± 0.40 mg g−1 (grown amorphous/crystalline TiO2).
• Adsorptive-photocatalytic removal of RIF reached 39 ± 1% (mixed) and 78 ± 1% (grown) after 6 hours of UV exposure.
• Kinetics of RIF adsorption were successfully modeled.

Conclusions:

• PLA/TiO2 composite microparticles demonstrate significant potential for antibiotic removal from wastewater.
• The developed materials exhibit efficient adsorptive-photocatalytic activity, particularly the grown amorphous/crystalline TiO2 variant.
• This study offers valuable insights for designing advanced polymer composites for efficient antibiotic remediation under solar irradiation.