Adsorption of diclofenac sodium using low-cost activated carbon in a fixed-bed column

In recent years, the presence of pharmaceutical contaminants, such as diclofenac sodium (DCF) in water bodies and their potential influence on aquatic organisms gained much attention. As a result of high demand and usage by consumers, in addition to incomplete removal during wastewater treatment, pharmaceutical contaminants will end up on water surfaces. To mitigate this problem, the elimination of DCF by employing activated carbon derived from Dillenia Indica peels was evaluated. The adsorption of DCF was performed in a continuous process. The findings showed that the adsorption of DCF was favorable at a lower flow rate, greater bed height, and initial DCF concentration, with the highest removal percentage of 44.93%. To assess the characteristics of the breakthrough curve of DCF, the adsorption data were used to match three distinct adsorption models, namely, Boharts and Adam, Yoon-Nelson, and Thomas. The breakthrough results were well-fitted with these models, as the values of R2 for all models and parameters were higher than 0.88. Thus, it was concluded that the activated carbon from Dillenia Indica can effectively remove DCF from an aqueous solution.