Continuous Removal of Pharmaceutical Drug Chloroquine and Safranin-O Dye from Water Using Agar-Graphene Oxide Hydrogel: Selective Adsorption in Batch and Fixed-Bed Experiments

In this work, Chloroquine diphosphate, and the cationic dye Safranin-O were selectively removed from water using the agar-graphene oxide (A-GO) hydrogel, produced via simple one-step jellification process. The morphology of the A-GO biocomposite was characterized and batch experiments were performed, with adsorption isotherms satisfactorily fitting (R-2 > 0.98) Sips (Safranin-O) and Freundlich (Chloroquine) isotherms. Driving force models and Fick's diffusion equation were applied to the modeling of kinetic data, and a satisfactory fit was obtained. Selective adsorption carried out in batch indicated that competitive adsorption occurs when both components are mixed in water solution - the adsorptive capacities dropped similar to 10 mg g(-1) for each component, remaining 41 mg g(-1) for safranin-O and 31 mg g(-1) for chloroquine. Fixed-bed breakthrough curves obtained in an adsorption column showed adsorption capacities over 63 mg g(-1) and 100 mg g(-1) for chloroquine and safranin-O, respectively, also exhibiting outstanding regenerative potentials. Overall, the biocomposite produced using graphene oxide proved to be a viable and eco-friendly alternative to continuously remove both contaminants from water.