Simultaneous removal of amoxicillin, ampicillin and penicillin by clay supported Fe/Ni bimetallic nanoparticles

Abstract This study examined functional bentonite-supported nanoscale Fe/Ni (B-Fe/Ni) for the simultaneous removal of β-lactam antibiotics such as amoxicillin (AMX), ampicillin (AMP) and penicillin (PEN). The results show only 94.6% of AMX, 80.6% of AMP and 53.7% of PEN were removed in the mixed antibiotic solution, while 97.5% of AMX, 85.1% of AMP and 74.5% of PEN were removed in individual antibiotic solution. The decreased removal in a mixed antibiotic solution was attributed to competition between antibiotics for: firstly, active sites of iron oxide for the adsorption; and secondly, accepted electrons for the degradation in passivation of the nZVI surface. These were confirmed by various characterization techniques. Kinetics studies of mixed antibiotics using B-Fe/Ni confirmed that adsorption and degradation occurred simultaneously as removing of antibiotics in the presence of particles. Furthermore, the stability and durability of B-Fe/Ni applied to remove β-lactam antibiotics was demonstrated. Finally, B-Fe/Ni was used to reduce the concentration of mixed antibiotics from pharmaceutical wastewater, which indicated B-Fe/Ni is a promising material for antibiotics wastewater treatment.