Production of magnetic biochar from the Hazelnut shell and magnetite particles for adsorption of Penicillin-G from the contaminated water

Magnetic biochar (MBC) was synthesized by using hazelnut shell (biomass) as a precursor and Fe3O4 as a magnetization agent and it is used as a suitable biosorbent for removal of pharmaceutical impurities from the contaminated water. Physical activations with ultrasound irradiation and pyrolysis were combined with chemical activations by H3PO4 and KOH to realize high adsorption performance on Penicillin-G (Pen-G) pharmaceutical impurities. The maximum Pen-G adsorption capacity of 479 mg/g was achieved in the temperature of 40°C, pH = 2, Pen-G concentration of 1000 ppm, and 0.175 g (per 100 g of solution) dose of catalyst. The produced biochar was characterized by FTIR, FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, and TGA experiments. The Langmuir isotherm shows the best fit with experimental adsorption data. Moreover, the adsorption experiments were extremely defined with the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The produced biosorbent had a high adsorption capacity, eco-friendly and cost-effective properties with considerable reusability properties.