Sulfamethoxazole sorption in eutrophic Regolithic Neosol

ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate sulfamethoxazole sorption kinetics and isotherms using batch method. The experiment was carried out in typic eutrophic Regolithic Neosol (0-20 and 20-60 cm layers) located in the private reserve of the Riacho do Papagaio farm, in São João, PE, Brazil. The tests were carried out under laboratory conditions at 24 ºC and sulfamethoxazole concentration was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The sorption experiment through the batch method used sulfamethoxazole solutions with concentrations of 10-3, 5.10-4, 10-4, 5.10-5, 10-5 and 5.10-6 mol L-1 to obtain the analytical curve. For this soil, sulfamethoxazole sorption kinetics was best described by a second-order model and the sorption isotherms were linear. Sulfamethoxazole predominantly interacts with organic matter in this type of soil. The results obtained in this study show that the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole exhibits low adsorption, posing a higher risk of contamination to the groundwaters in this region at pH ≈ 7