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Volume 111
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Remediation of oxytetracycline-contaminated aqueous solution utilizing functionalized coffee ground waste-derived activated carbon
Afiqah Tasneem Abd Khalil, Mohamad Firdaus Mohamad Yusop *, Mohd Azmier Ahmad *
School of Chemical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Nibong Tebal, 14300, Penang, Malaysia
10.1016/j.partic.2026.01.027
Volume 111, April 2026, Pages 11-26
Received 11 September 2025, Revised 14 January 2026, Accepted 21 January 2026, Available online 3 February 2026, Version of Record 9 February 2026.
E-mail: mfirdausyusop@yahoo.com; chazmier@usm.my
Highlights

• Copper-modified activated carbon was synthesized from coffee ground waste using microwave-assisted CO2 activation.

• Optimized parameters (616W, 4 min and 1 g/g IR) achieved 25.32 mg/g oxytetracycline uptake and 80.68% yield.

• Adsorption kinetics followed a pseudo-second order model, indicating dominance of chemisorption.

• Langmuir isotherm best described the monolayer adsorption with enhanced uptake at higher temperatures.

• Thermodynamic results confirmed the process was spontaneous and endothermic, favoring higher solution temperatures.


Abstract

The removal of trace concentrations of oxytetracycline (OTC), a stable antibiotic prevalent in aquatic environments represents a significant environmental challenge. This study effectively removed it by utilizing a cost-effective copper-modified coffee ground waste activated carbon (Cu2+-CGWAC), designed specifically for an enhanced adsorption of dilute pharmaceutical pollutants. The modified adsorbent was synthesized via a simplified method involving microwave-assisted activation with CO2 gasification. Optimization via response surface methodology (RSM) has identified 616 W radiation power, 4 min radiation time and 1.00 g/g modification impregnation ratio (IR) as optimal conditions. The resulting adsorbent yielded 23.04 mg/g OTC uptake (actual: 24.88 mg/g; error: 7.40 %) and 75.86 % yield (actual: 80.52 %; error: 5.79 %). Cu2+-CGWAC adsorbent exhibited a high surface area (904.56 m2/g by BET analysis) and pore volume (0.3711 cm3/g), with carboxyl group functionalization. Subsequently, batch adsorption analysis was conducted to study the effect of adsorbent dosage, contact time, OTC initial concentration, OTC solution temperature and pH on the OTC removal, achieving a complete removal (100%) with maximum adsorption uptake of 30 mg/g for low concentration OTC solutions. Adsorption followed pseudo-second order (PSO) kinetics model and Freundlich isotherm, indicating heterogeneous multilayer adsorption behaviour with RMSE of 0.80 and minimal error of 7.51 %. Thermodynamic analysis suggested a spontaneous and endothermic process, with positive values of entropy change (0.37 kJ/mol K), enthalpy change (81.17 kJ/mol) and Arrhenius activation energy value (8.76 kJ/mol). The tailored Cu2+-CGWAC demonstrates advancement in a simplified adsorbent design, outlining a cost-effective, robust and high-performance potential for dilute pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Activated carbon; Oxytetracycline; Coffee ground waste; Optimization; Microwave activation; Metal-functionalized carbon
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