Removal of antibiotics from water medium by adsorbents and nanocomposites produced with biomasses waste

• Grant number: 21/14791-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2022
• End date: April 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Sanitary Engineering - Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment
• Principal Investigator: Geórgia Christina Labuto Araújo
• Grantee: Lucelia Alcantara Barros
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Access to clean water and basic sanitation are fundamental and essential rights for the entire world population, since water is necessary for the existence of any living being. It is known that the difficulty in allowing this access is not only due to the lack of quantity, but also because of the quality of the water that should be distributed to the population, since several and demanding quality parameters should be considered. Among the contaminants frequently reported in water bodies stand out drugs that even at low concentrations can cause deleterious effects on humans and biota, which have very low biodegradability, being related to the development of genes and bacteria. New process and technologies have been evaluated to remove such pollutants that are not currently completely removed by the techniques usually employed in water and effluent treatment plants. The use of adsorbents such as activated carbon, which can be obtained through different biomass residues from renewable sources, minimizing costs, have been reported for drug removal, including antibiotics from the aqueous medium. Recently, such adsorbents have been associated with ferromagnetic nanoparticles to favor their removal of the liquid medium after the adsorption process. Thus, this project proposes: 1) Prediction and prioritization of antibiotics to be removed from the water having as reference of quantitative consumption of such substances the municipalities that make up the hydrographic basin of the Guarapiranga dam (São Paulo, Brazil), considering sales data, physical-chemical and toxicological parameters; 2) Development of activated carbon and nanocomposites from sugarcane bagasse biomass residues and yeast from industrial fermentation processes; 3) Application of adsorbents produced to remove antibiotics prioritized by batch and fixed bed processes. This project is in line with the goals of sustainable development established by the United Nations, specifically that which aims to ensure water security and is associated with the research project funded by the Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo (Regular Assistance Process 2020/14419-7), coordinated by Prof. Dr. Georgia Labuto.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GUIMARAES, TACIANA G. S.; BARROS, LUCELIA A.; SILVA, RICARDO SANTOS; GONZALEZ, MARIO H.; CARRILHO, ELMA N. V. M.; LABUTO, GEORGIA. Synthesis and characterization of biochars modified with natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) for dipyrone removal from aqueous medium. SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY, v. 35, p. 18-pg., 2023-10-01. (22/06823-8, 21/06471-1, 21/14759-5, 21/14791-6, 20/12263-0, 21/10599-3, 20/14419-7, 22/08358-0)