Remoción de cefalosporinas con aluminosilicatos

Abstract

The presence of emerging pollutants, such as antibiotics, is of great concern due to the effects it causes on ecosystems and human health. The greatest impact of this type of pollutant is bacterial resistance in natural environments, mainly in water, and although there are methods to remove them, traces of antibiotics cannot be completely removed by wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Adsorption is one of the processes to remove antibiotics from wastewater and aluminosilicates (Al-Si), natural or modified, are adsorbent compounds that have not received enough attention, however, some studies have shown their efficacy to remove beta-lactam antibiotics, such as first, second, third, and fourth generation cephalosporins. Precisely, this family of drugs is the main cause of bacterial resistance in nosocomial and natural environments. The use of Al-Si modified with surfactants, such as hexadecyltimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br), dodecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB) and oxide nanoparticles, is a promising alternative for the advanced treatment of water contaminated with antibiotics. Some investigations have found a 61% improvement in the process of sorption of cephalexin with Al-Si modified with metallic nanoparticles and, on the other hand, a 65% increase in the removal process of the same antibiotic when they are modified with Fe3O4. This shows that the surface modification of Al-Si considerably improves the adsorption process of cephalosporins.