Enhanced adsorption capacity of guar gum derived carbon for quinoline

Residuary quinoline is a potential risk for human health in the environment, and the adsorption process is an effective way to remove this residual antibiotic. In this work, a very common guar gum was carbonised to guar gum derived carbon, which demonstrated a rich porous structure and high Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area (990 m2 g−1) that endowed the quinoline antibiotic with a fast adsorption rate and excellent adsorption capacity. The nonlinear fitting parameters of the adsorption isotherm indicate that the Langmuir model can accurately represent the adsorption behaviour with a maximum adsorption capacity of 425 mg g−1. The guar gum derived carbon shows great potential for the removal of antibiotics such as quinoline and other contaminants in contaminated water.