Grafted Sepiolites for the Removal of Pharmaceuticals in Water Treatment

Abstract

The increased detection of pharmaceuticals in finished drinking water has become a growing cause of concern in recent years. The removal of atenolol, ranitidine, and carbamazepine by sepiolite, following functionalization of its surface by organosilane grafting, constituted the subject of this investigation. Silylated surfaces include octyl, γ-aminopropyl, 3-chloropropyl, and triphenyl moieties. The sorption of atenolol and ranitidine was higher on sepiolite functionalized with 3-chloropropyl, while carbamazepine showed a higher sorption on sepiolite with triphenyl groups. Filtration experiments of both ranitidine and carbamazepine on octyl- and triphenyl-sepiolite, respectively, showed a higher retention of ranitidine in comparison to carbamazepine, in spite of the fact that the number of sorption sites was lower due to its higher binding rate.