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Charcoal-adsorption of antibiotic fermentation broth

to their dosage (150 mg/L), as well as the resistant capacity and rapid kinetics. AC adsorption reduced
characteristics of antibiotics. COD, BOD, and antimicrobial concentrations in
Ranaweera et al. reported that AC adsorption was fermentation wastewater. Treatment of antibiotic
8
more successful in hospital wastewater, removing 50% fermentation effluent with 20 mg/L of adsorbent material
of total organic carbon compared to 34% in ordinary at 75°C resulted in a maximum COD reduction of 62%.
wastewater. AC adsorption efficiently eliminated Increasing the adsorbent material dose further enhanced
COD from effluent at a dose of 2 g/L, with a clearance the COD removal efficiency. The most significant
rate of 66.2% in hospital wastewater and 65% in decrease in BOD occurred when the broth was treated
5
ordinary sewage. This is consistent with the findings with 30 mg/L of AC at 25°C, achieving a reduction
from previous research, which reported a 55% COD of about 9.1%. AC effectively removes pristinamycin
elimination at 3–5 g/L and over 90% at 16 g/L. 29,30 from fermentation effluents, but process efficiency
Uniform outcomes across different wastewater types depends on charcoal modification, pH, and effluent
illustrate AC’s adaptability in adsorbing a range of complexity. Further studies are warranted to explore
organic molecules. the integration of adsorption with membrane filtration
Consistent with earlier research, this study found that or biodegradation, which could enhance selectivity
AC effectively removed COD and BOD. According to and cost-effectiveness while mitigating antimicrobial
several studies, AC can effectively remove dissolved resistance risks in a sustainable manner.
organic matter (DOM) and can be further optimized
by doping or modifying commercial AC. For example, Acknowledgments
Choi et al. discovered that AC adsorbs TC more
31
efficiently than sulfonamides in synthetic wastewater, None.
but DOM interferes in high-DOM conditions. Zhou
et al. proposed that ferroferric oxide nanoparticles Funding
32
could increase AC’s adsorption capacity. In addition, This study was funded by the Date Palm Research
Zhang et al. demonstrated that modified AC made Center of Excellence, King Faisal University.
33
from petroleum coke had twice the adsorption capacity
of commercial AC, lending credence to this finding. Conflict of interest
AC adsorption is extensively utilized in sewage
treatment processes. The capital expenditure and The authors declare that they have no known competing
operational expenditure associated with AC adsorption financial interests, and this manuscript has not been
are significantly influenced by plant capacity, system submitted to any other journal in parallel or published
configurations, and the removal or management of previously.
the adsorbent. 34-37 Due to the frequent requirement for
adsorbent replacement or regeneration, cost analyses Author contributions
show that AC adsorption incurs substantial operational
expenditure but modest capital expenditure. 38,39 Conceptualization: Salah Mohammed Aleid
The 52% COD removal achieved at 30 mg/L Formal analysis: Salah Mohammed Aleid, Sam
demonstrates effective treatment performance; however, Al-Dalali
the economic feasibility of large-scale application Investigation: Salah Mohammed Aleid, Siddig H.
is hindered by the costs associated with adsorbents. Hamad
Hybrid systems integrating biological pretreatment Methodology: Salah Mohammed Aleid, Siddig H.
with targeted charcoal application may achieve over Hamad
80% removal efficiency at approximately one-tenth the Writing–original draft: Salah Mohammed Aleid, Sam
cost. However, charcoal regeneration is feasible only Al-Dalali
for facilities with a capacity exceeding 50,000 m /day. Writing–review & editing: Sam Al-Dalali
3

4. Conclusion Availability of data

The traditional AC adsorption technique effectively Data are available from the corresponding author upon
removed pristinamycin, demonstrating high adsorption reasonable request.

Volume 22 Issue 6 (2025) 139 doi: 10.36922/AJWEP025240198