Page 140 - AJWEP-22-6

Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution. Vol. 22, No. 6 (2025), pp. 134-141.
doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025240198

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Treatment of antibiotic fermentation effluents using
charcoal adsorption

Salah Mohammed Aleid * , Siddig H. Hamad , and Sam Al-Dalali *
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2,3
1 Department of Food and Nutrition Sciences, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University,
Al Ahsa, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
2 School of Food and Health, Guilin Tourism University, Guilin, Guangxi, China
3 Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, Ibb University, Ibb, Yemen
*Corresponding authors: Salah Mohammed Aleid (seid@kfu.edu.sa);
Sam Al-Dalali (salihsam4@gmail.com)

Received: June 15, 2025; Revised: August 3, 2025; Accepted: August 11, 2025; Published online: August 28, 2025

Abstract: Activated carbon (AC) is widely used as an adsorbent in multiple sectors, including the pharmaceutical,
chemical, beverage, and food industries. This study investigates the removal of organic materials from antibiotic
fermentation effluents using powdered AC at various temperatures. Pristinamycin was synthesized by cultivating
Streptomyces pristinaespiralis with date syrup as a glucose substitute. The fermentation effluent was treated with
activated charcoal to reduce biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Optimal
removal was achieved with 30 mg/L of activated charcoal at 25°C. Under these conditions, COD decreased
by approximately 52%, and 5-day BOD decreased by approximately 9.1% compared to the untreated effluent.
Increasing the AC dose enhanced the efficiency of COD removal. Based on these findings, AC adsorption of
antibiotic pristinamycin from wastewater appears to be a viable treatment option.

Keywords: Antibiotic fermentation; Biochemical oxygen demand; Chemical oxygen demand; Adsorption;
Charcoal; Pristinamycin

1. Introduction investigated using several anionic adsorbents, including
IRA-92, IRA-67, IRA-425, and IRA-400, as well as
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Wastewater produced by biopharmaceutical facilities non-polar adsorbents such as activated carbon (AC). 4,7
contains high concentrations of organic and microbial AC is widely used as an adsorbent in multiple sectors,
contaminants, substantially increasing the biochemical including the pharmaceutical, chemical, beverage,
oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand and food industries. Its widespread use is attributed
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(COD) of the effluent. Cations such as potassium (K ), to its cost-effectiveness, simplicity, non-toxicity, and
+
sodium (Na ), magnesium (Mg ), and calcium (Ca ) low energy requirements. Adsorption onto AC has
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2+
2+
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ions significantly complicate the treatment process. demonstrated significant effectiveness in purifying
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Adsorption is among the most commonly employed industrial wastewaters and improving effluent quality
techniques for treating antibiotic waste effluents in the from biologically treated facilities. The extensive use
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industry. Adsorption of lactic or other organic acids of AC in water and wastewater treatment is attributed
from fermentation broth at room temperature has been to its vast surface area (approximately 1,100 m /g) and
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Volume 22 Issue 6 (2025) 134 doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025240198