Iron-modified biochar for enhanced removal of ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin in wastewater

Antibiotic contamination in wastewater is an urgent environmental and public health concern because conventional treatment methods are ineffective in completely removing these pollutants. Iron-modified biochar, synthesized from agricultural waste, is proposed as an efficient and sustainable media for removal of ciprofloxacin and amoxicillin from wastewater. Iron-modified biochar was synthesized using a simple pyrolysis process with corn and ferrous sulfate as feedstock. Adsorbents were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Removal performance of antibiotics was evaluated under different conditions, including antibiotic dosage, concentration of hydrogen peroxide, pH, and amount of humic acid. The results demonstrated high removal efficiencies of 87% for ciprofloxacin and 83% for amoxicillin within 25 min. Mechanistic studies revealed the generation of hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) and singlet oxygen (¹O₂), and confirmed the activation of hydrogen peroxide in the system. These findings highlight the potential of iron-modified biochar as a sustainable and effective catalyst for antibiotic removal, offering a promising solution for reducing pharmaceutical contamination in wastewater.