Sulfamethazine (SMN), a sulfonamide is extensively used in cattle and swine operations for therapeutic and sub therapeutic treatments. Upon administration, SMN is partially metabolized by cattle and swine and is then released into the environment through excretion. Because of its high solubility and potential threat to surface water, soil and groundwater, it is imperative that their sorption mechanism is well understood so that potential remediation protocol could be developed. To conduct sorption experiments, a commercially available powdered activated carbon (C-PAC) and laboratory developed powdered activated carbon (LD-PAC) were used. Physical characterization of C-PAC and LD-PAC showed N2-BET surface areas of 900 m2/g and 329 m2/g respectively. Sorption of SMN was investigated by varying equilibration time, pH and solid to liquid ration. The results clearly demonstrate that the equilibrium time for C-PAC and LD-PAC were 12h at the concentration of 3 mg/L of SMN. The increase in concentration of SMN showed a reduction in the removal capacity of the activated carbons.

Comparative study of the aqueous-phase adsorption of sulfamethazine onto commercially available and laboratory developed activated carbon

247th National Meeting (2014)

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