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Microporous carbon derived from waste plastics for efficient adsorption of tetracycline: Adsorption mechanism and application potentials
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Scientists converted waste PET plastic bottles into a porous carbon material that can remove 100% of the antibiotic tetracycline from water. The material worked effectively across a wide range of water conditions and could be reused multiple times. This approach offers a double benefit: it repurposes plastic waste that would otherwise become microplastic pollution while also cleaning antibiotics from water, addressing two environmental threats at once.
In recent years, the accumulation of waste plastics and emergence plastic-derived pollutants such as microplastics have driven significantly the development and updating of waste plastic utilization technology. This study prepared the porous carbon (PC-1-KOH) material directly from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in waste plastic bottles using KOH activation and molten salt strategy for efficient removal of antibiotic tetracycline (TC). The maximum removal efficiency of TC was 100.0% with a PC-1-KOH weight of 20 mg. In addition, the TC removal efficiency stayed over 80.0% within the rage of pH of 3-9 and different water bodies. The adsorption process was described by the Pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm, suggesting that the adsorption of TC was predominantly chemical in nature and occurred on a homogeneous surface. The pores filling, hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking interactions and electrostatic interaction are the main mechanisms of TC adsorption. This work demonstrates a sustainable approach to converting plastic waste derived materials into functional materials for effective pollution removal and environmental remediation.
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Researchers found a way to turn waste PET plastic bottles into a special material (metal-organic framework) that can remove nanoplastic particles from water with up to 97% efficiency. This approach solves two problems at once: it recycles plastic bottle waste and uses the resulting material to clean plastic nanoparticles from contaminated water. The technology offers a promising circular solution for addressing both plastic waste and nanoplastic water pollution.
The impact of chlorination on the tetracycline sorption behavior of microplastics in aqueous solution
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Researchers found that chlorination, a common disinfection step in wastewater treatment, alters the surface chemistry of microplastics and changes their capacity to adsorb tetracycline antibiotics, with chlorinated microplastics showing modified sorption behavior that affects their role as antibiotic carriers.
Mechanistic Insights into Competitive Adsorption of Antibiotics on PET, PP, and HDPE Microplastics
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Scientists found that microplastics in water can act like tiny sponges, soaking up antibiotics, especially certain types like doxycycline, with the plastic called PET (used in bottles and food packaging) absorbing the most. This matters because it means microplastics could help transport antibiotics through waterways and potentially into our food and water supply, which raises concerns about spreading antibiotic residues and contributing to antibiotic resistance. More research is needed to understand what this means once these plastic-antibiotic combos end up in the environment we interact with daily.
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