Effectiveness and analysis of synthesis nanoparticles walnut shells/zinc oxide to reduce trimethoprim from aqueous solutions

Abstract

Antibiotics are one of the new contaminants that, if not effectively regulated, might have detrimental impacts on both human health and the aquatic environment. Trimethoprim (TRM) is one of the most often used antibiotics, and in recent years, its presence in aquatic environments has raised significant concerns because of its persistent actions. In this study, green synthesized nanoparticles consisting of walnut shells (WS) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) were used to produce walnut shells loaded with zinc oxide nanoparticles (WS/ZnONPs). Adsorption with synthesized WS/ZnONPs as an adsorbent to reduce TRM from aqueous solutions showed high TRM removal efficiency (84.6%) with a maximum adsorption capacity of 118.782 with the Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.990). When optimal parameters are achieved, pH 5, dosage 0.2 g per 100 mL, particle size 63 μm, vibration speed 200 rpm, 110 minutes, and temperature 25 °C. This maximum adsorption capacity was seen at an initial concentration of 50 ppm. A pseudo-second-order model can accurately describe how TRM binds to WS/ZnONPs. This is shown by the high coefficient of determination and strong agreement between model predictions and experimental adsorption. Furthermore, the results indicate that intra-particle diffusion is not the primary mechanism governing the adsorption process. Thermodynamic analysis showed that TRM adsorption onto WS/ZnONPs was exothermic, spontaneous, and practicable. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) are used to describe how WS/ZnONPs are made. The results show that WS/ZnONPs serve as a highly effective adsorbent for removing TRM from aqueous solutions.

Keywords

• Adsorption
• Antibiotics
• Nanoparticles
• Synthesis
• Trimethoprim
• Walnut sell