Sign in Subscribe
Environmental sustainability

Sustainable Activated Carbon from Copper Pod Tree Leaves for Efficient Tetracycline Removal and Regeneration

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A new report from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education highlights the significance of developing sustainable and efficient methods for removing tetracycline from water. Researchers have successfully synthesized activated carbon from copper pod tree leaves, which shows promising results in adsorbing tetracycline. The study explores the adsorption kinetics and isotherm modeling, revealing a high monolayer adsorption capacity and chemisorption as the dominant mechanism. The adsorbent demonstrated excellent performance in removing tetracycline from natural water matrices, with a high surface area and a high adsorption capacity.

Key Takeaways:

  • The research aimed to develop a sustainable and efficient method for removing tetracycline from water, using activated carbon from copper pod tree leaves as the adsorbent.
  • The adsorbent was synthesized through orthophosphoric acid activation at low temperature, resulting in a porous structure favorable for adsorption.
  • Characterization techniques such as FESEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, BET, and XPS confirmed the presence of carbon, oxygen, and phosphorus, as well as hydroxyl and carbonyl groups facilitating hydrogen bonding with tetracycline, enhancing adsorption.
  • Kinetic experiments showed that the adsorption fitted to pseudo-second-order kinetics (R² = 0.9765), indicating chemisorption as the dominant mechanism.
  • The Langmuir model provided an excellent fit to the experimental data (R² = 0.9952), demonstrating a high monolayer adsorption capacity of 103.32 mg/g.
  • Thermodynamics confirmed the spontaneity and endothermicity of the adsorption process, with a DH° of 50.75 kJ/mol.
  • The adsorbent effectively removed tetracycline across natural water matrices, retaining high performance after five regeneration cycles.
  • Additional authors of the research include Gokulakrishnan Murugesan, Raja Selvaraj, Thivaharan Varadavenkatesan, and Ramesh Vinayagam.

Statistics:

  • The prepared adsorbent showed a high surface area of 865.06 m²/g.
  • The adsorbent demonstrated a high monolayer adsorption capacity of 103.32 mg/g.
  • Thermodynamics confirmed a DH° of 50.75 kJ/mol.
  • The Langmuir model provided an excellent fit to the experimental data (R² = 0.9952).
  • The adsorbent effectively removed tetracycline across natural water matrices after five regeneration cycles.

Sources:

  • "Sustainable activated carbon from copper pod tree leaves for efficient tetracycline removal and regeneration." Scientific Reports, 2025, 15(1):1-17.
  • http://www.nature.com/srep/index.html (Scientific Reports)
  • https://doi-org.sdpl.idm.oclc.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02213-6 (Free version of the journal article)
  • NewsRx. Manipal Academy of Higher Education Researchers Provide New Data on Sustainability Research (Sustainable activated carbon from copper pod tree leaves for efficient tetracycline removal and regeneration). Ecology, Environment & Conservation. June 13, 2025; p 340.

Read more