Water remediation by micelle–clay system: Case study for tetracycline and sulfonamide antibiotics

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) 2006-07, Vol.40 (12), p.2369-2374
• Main Authors: Polubesova, Tamara, Zadaka, Dikla, Groisman, Ludmila, Nir, Shlomo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: activated carbon; Adsorption; Aluminum Silicates; Anti-Bacterial Agents - chemistry; Antibiotics; Applied sciences; aqueous solutions; benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium; case studies; chlortetracycline; clay; Exact sciences and technology; filters; fulvic acids; humic acids; Micelle; Micelles; Montmorillonite; Organic cation; Other industrial wastes. Sewage sludge; oxytetracycline; Pollution; quartz; remediation; sand; soil organic matter; sulfamethizole; sulfamethoxazole; sulfisoxazole; sulfonamides; Sulfonamides - chemistry; tetracycline; Tetracycline - chemistry; Wastes; Water Pollutants, Chemical - isolation & purification; water pollution; Water Purification - methods; water treatment; Water treatment and pollution
• ISSN: 0043-1354; 1879-2448
• DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2006.04.008

Removal of tetracycline and sulfonamide antibiotics from water by micelles pre-adsorbed on montmorillonite was studied. Micelles of benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium (BDMHDA) were used. Batch experiments demonstrated that the micelle–clay complexes (1% w/w) removed 96–99.9% of antibiotics from their water solutions containing from 5 to 50 mg/L of pharmaceuticals. Column filters (25 cm) made of a mixture of quartz sand and BDMHDA micelle–clay complex at 100:1 w/w ratio removed 94–99.9% of above pharmaceuticals from initial solutions containing 10 mg/L and 89% of sulfamethizole from an initial solution containing 10 μg/L of this antibiotic. These filters were also very efficient in the removal of antibiotics in the presence of dissolved soil organic matter removing 89–99% of tetracycline and sulfamethizol from initial solutions containing 10 mg/L of antibiotic in the presence of 8 mg/L of humic acid, or 9 mg/L of fulvic acid. These data indicate that micelle–clay complexes are very efficient for water purification from tetracycline and sulfonamide antibiotics.