Human hair-derived high surface area porous carbon material for the adsorption isotherm and kinetics of tetracycline antibiotics

Abstract

In this work, a human hair-derived high surface area porous carbon material (HHC) was prepared using potassium hydroxide activation. The morphology and textural properties of the HHC structure, along with its adsorption performance for tetracycline (TC) antibiotics, were evaluated. HHC showed a high surface area of 1505.11 m2/g and 68.34% microporosity. The effects of most important variables, such as initial concentration (25–355 mg/L), solution pH (3–13), and temperatures (30–50 °C), on the HHC adsorption performance were investigated. Isotherm data analysis revealed the favorable application of the Langmuir model, with maximum TC uptakes of 128.52, 162.62, and 210.18 mg/g at 30, 40, and 50 °C, respectively. The experimental data of TC uptakes versus time were analyzed efficiently using a pseudo-first order model. Porous HHC could be an efficient adsorbent for eliminating antibiotic pollutants in wastewater.