REMOVAL OF SELECTED PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOUNDS FROM HOSPITAL WASTE WATER USING AN ADSORBENT PREPARED FROM Jatropha curcas WASTE CAKE

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Date
2019-12
Authors
ADEGBE, Elijah Abakpa
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Abstract
Samples collected from the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria Wastewater treatment plant were extracted using the solid phase extraction method and analysed based on the drug usage in Nigeria, using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). In the wastewater matrices investigated, amoxicillin had the highest concentration of 8066 μg/L while ibuprofen had a concentration of 165.50 μg/L. Acetaminophen had the lowest concentration of 34.31 μg/L. This study showed that some pharmaceutical compounds were not effectively removed during the wastewater treatment.The present work also investigated the use of Jatropha waste cakes, a by-product of the manufacturing process of biofuels, as a potential feedstock for the preparation of activated carbon. Chemical activation of the precursor, using phosphoric acid as dehydrating agent, was conducted. The Jatropha waste cake was carbonized at 400oC and activated with H3PO4at 450oC respectively. The microstructural and structural properties of the prepared adsorbent were studied using Brunauer-Emett-Teller (BET), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR). The BET results revealed that the surface areas and pore size of the jatropha activated carbon were868 m2g-1 and 2.128 nm respectively.The FTIR results showed changes in the absorption band of the precursor material compared to that of the Jatropha activated carbon. This showed that the activation process was successful. The central composite design was used to optimize the effects of contact time, concentration, adsorbent dosage and pH on the adsorption process. This resulted in the successful adsorption of acetaminophen (99.98%), amoxicillin (99.96%), and ibuprofen (100 %). The prepared adsorbent compared favourably with the commercial activated carbon.
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A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY, FACULTY OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA
Keywords
REMOVAL OF SELECTED PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOUNDS,, HOSPITAL WASTE WATER,, USING AN ADSORBENT PREPARED,, atropha curcas WASTE CAKE
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