Study of the Adsorption of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus Bacteria on Enterosorbent Obtained from Apricot Kernels

Abstract

This paper presents the results of scientific research on the structural parameters and the adsorption capacity of activated carbon obtained from apricot kernels (AC-A) in a fluidized layer. The obtained results highlight the fact that the described procedure allows obtaining a mesoporous carbon adsorbent with increased adsorption capacities (SBET = 1424 m2/g) and with quality indices corresponding to the requirements of the carbon enterosorbents imposed by the European Pharmacopoeia Monograph. Adsorption kinetics studies of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus have shown that the time to establish the adsorption equilibrium is 75–90 min. The adsorption of the mentioned bacteria on the carbon enterosorbent AC-A was studied depending on the temperature (26 and 36 °C) and pH of the solution (1.97–4.05). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that the immobilization of bacteria takes place on the outer surface of the carbon adsorbent due to the fact that the geometric dimensions of the bacteria are often larger than the macro diameter of the activated carbon pores. FTIR investigations also indicated the presence of bacteria on the surface of the activated carbon.