Removal of antibiotic compounds by adsorption using glycerol-based carbon materials

In the recent past few years, antibiotics have raised a significant concern from the research community, due mainly to the antibiotic resistance generated by metabolites and the continuous release of these drugs to the environment. Adsorption, since it is a non-destructive tertiary technology, has been revealed as one of the most advantageous technique in wastewater treatment processes. Commercial activated carbons usually show high affinity to hundreds of organic and inorganic compounds, since the use of commercial materials is associated to high operation and regeneration costs. So, the preparation of activated carbons from crude glycerol, an abundant feedstock of the biodiesel production, consists of an interesting research focus. The aim of this study is to explore several glycerol-based carbon materials synthesized by partial carbonization in concentrated sulfuric acid solution and further thermal activation for the removal of the antibiotics flumequine (FLQ) and tetracycline (TCN) from water.