A comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in water

Abstract Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is one of the majority of vital antibiotic medications and is widely employed for the treatment of bacterial infections. This pharmaceutical residue has been detected in surface water and sewage wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Moreover, it has negative impacts on...

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Main Authors: Ahmed Salah Elkomy, Mohamed Sh. Abdel-wahab, Nabila Shehata
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95947-2
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author Ahmed Salah Elkomy
Mohamed Sh. Abdel-wahab
Nabila Shehata
author_facet Ahmed Salah Elkomy
Mohamed Sh. Abdel-wahab
Nabila Shehata
author_sort Ahmed Salah Elkomy
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is one of the majority of vital antibiotic medications and is widely employed for the treatment of bacterial infections. This pharmaceutical residue has been detected in surface water and sewage wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Moreover, it has negative impacts on humans and ecosystems. The main aim of this work is to remediate water from SMX using two different water treatment techniques i.e. adsorption and photocatalytic degradation by using silver phosphate (Ag3PO4). The materials were characterized using structural (e.g. elemental dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and morphological (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) analytical methods. The percentage of elimination of SMX at optimum solution pH, adsorbent dose, initial drug concentration and equilibrium time, was 95.15% by adsorption which corresponds to a maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) of 1299.7 mgg−1 and the removal percentage of SMX was 98.2% according to the photocatalytic degradation. Fritz-Schlunder model is the best to describe the adsorption of SMX onto Ag3PO4. Ag3PO4 can be efficiently recycled as an adsorbent using distilled water up to 4 cycles followed by ethanol 70% and turmeric extract. For the recycling of Ag3PO4 as a photocatalyst, 0.1 M NaOH is the best solvent followed by water, ethanol 70%.
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spelling doaj-art-d4ce037413464338ba4b8a8dc62986e22025-08-20T02:17:53ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111910.1038/s41598-025-95947-2A comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in waterAhmed Salah Elkomy0Mohamed Sh. Abdel-wahab1Nabila Shehata2Materials Science and Nanotechnology Department, Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences, Beni-Suef UniversityMaterials Science and Nanotechnology Department, Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences, Beni-Suef UniversityEnvironmental Science and Industrial Development Department, Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences (PSAS), Beni-Suef UniversityAbstract Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is one of the majority of vital antibiotic medications and is widely employed for the treatment of bacterial infections. This pharmaceutical residue has been detected in surface water and sewage wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Moreover, it has negative impacts on humans and ecosystems. The main aim of this work is to remediate water from SMX using two different water treatment techniques i.e. adsorption and photocatalytic degradation by using silver phosphate (Ag3PO4). The materials were characterized using structural (e.g. elemental dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and morphological (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) analytical methods. The percentage of elimination of SMX at optimum solution pH, adsorbent dose, initial drug concentration and equilibrium time, was 95.15% by adsorption which corresponds to a maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) of 1299.7 mgg−1 and the removal percentage of SMX was 98.2% according to the photocatalytic degradation. Fritz-Schlunder model is the best to describe the adsorption of SMX onto Ag3PO4. Ag3PO4 can be efficiently recycled as an adsorbent using distilled water up to 4 cycles followed by ethanol 70% and turmeric extract. For the recycling of Ag3PO4 as a photocatalyst, 0.1 M NaOH is the best solvent followed by water, ethanol 70%.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95947-2AdsorptionKineticIsotherm modelsPhotocatalytic degradationSilver phosphateSulfamethoxazole
spellingShingle Ahmed Salah Elkomy
Mohamed Sh. Abdel-wahab
Nabila Shehata
A comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in water
Scientific Reports
Adsorption
Kinetic
Isotherm models
Photocatalytic degradation
Silver phosphate
Sulfamethoxazole
title A comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in water
title_full A comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in water
title_fullStr A comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in water
title_full_unstemmed A comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in water
title_short A comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in water
title_sort comparison between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation for the management of sulfamethoxazole in water
topic Adsorption
Kinetic
Isotherm models
Photocatalytic degradation
Silver phosphate
Sulfamethoxazole
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95947-2
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