ADSORPTION CHARACTERIZATION OF ANTIBIOTIC TRIMETHOPRIM USING GRANULAR ACTIVATED CARBON (GAC) AND POWDERED ACTIVATED CARBON (PAC)

• Main Author: Razansyah, Fauzan
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik saniter dan perkotaan; teknik perlindungan lingkungan
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/84245
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The presence of antibiotics in aquatic environments has been known to lead to the development of bacteria with resistant genes. One type of antibiotic found in the environment is trimethoprim, making it necessary to find methods to remove this substance from the environment. Adsorption is a process that has been extensively researched in the field of water remediation. This study aims to investigate the adsorption of trimethoprim by granular activated carbon (GAC) and powdered activated carbon (PAC). Experiments were conducted using artificial wastewater containing distilled water and trimethoprim, which was contacted with adsorbents with varying pH levels and trimethoprim concentrations measured periodically. Trimethoprim detection was performed using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The contact time required to reach equilibrium for GAC was 120 minutes and for PAC was 100 minutes. The removal efficiency at equilibrium for both GAC and PAC was above 97% for various initial concentration variants. The optimum pH for trimethoprim removal was 4. The adsorption process between trimethoprim and GAC and PAC was favorable, as evidenced by the Freundlich isotherm model's ????? values of 1.299 for GAC and 1.799 for PAC. The adsorption process of trimethoprim by GAC occurred rapidly with an average k1 value of 0.0404, while the average k1 value using PAC was 0.0489.