Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are some of the most prescribed drugs worldwide and several studies report their presence in various hydric media including drinking water, surface water, and sewage water. Unfortunately, conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are inefficient in the removal of NSAIDs. Of considerable interest is the possibility of using biomass wastes to prepare an effective adsorbent and its use in the removal of NSAIDs.
Adsorption is a treatment process based on accumulation of the adsorbate (pollutant) on the adsorbent surface that has been successful used for the optimization of WWTP. Carbon-based materials (CBMs), such activated carbons have shown incredible efficiency as adsorbents. Traditionally, they are produced from anthracite, coal or peat. However, nowadays biomass residues (e.g. walnut shell, olive stones) has become an essential element for their production, due to the lower cost of biomass and its renewable nature.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER
under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/0690/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
