Assessment of sulfamethoxazole adsorption capacity on Pirangi clay from the State of Sergipe, Brazil, modified by heating and addition of organic cation

Abstract

Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a widely-used antibiotic in human and veterinary medicine for treating diseases and infections and is often detected in the surface water ecosystem. Thus, this study evaluated the capacity of removing SMX from aqueous systems using Pirangi clay (PIR) from the state of Sergipe (Brazil). Pirangi clay samples were treated at 100, 400 and 600 °C and modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA) cationic surfactant. The modification process used was based on the layered organization of the mineral clay, allowing the intercalation of cationic surfactant, giving a hydrophobic character to the clay. The Pirangi clay treated at 100 °C and modified with HDTMA (org-PIR-100) showed adsorption capacity of 27.3 mg.g-1 with 90% removal of the SMX in 100 min and pH 6, following the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm. Different characterization methods were employed to characterize the clays, such as XRF, FTIR, XRD, thermogravimetric analyzes (TG/DTG) and BET method, confirming that the surfactant molecules were incorporated on the clay surface and that org-PIR-100 showed potential for use in water treatment plant filters.