See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/370714351

CTAB-activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of Antibiotics and
Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria from Water

Article in Environmental Processes · May 2023

DOI: 10.1007/s40710-023-00636-9

CITATIONS READS

0 215

6 authors, including:

Abisola Egbedina Chidinma Gloria Olorunnisola

University of Ibadan Universität of Potsdam
12 PUBLICATIONS 76 CITATIONS 18 PUBLICATIONS 168 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Peter Alabi Dare Hassan Sulaimon

Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria. University of Ibadan
8 PUBLICATIONS 3 CITATIONS 2 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Emerging and Re-emerging infectious diseases View project

Contaminated water treatment using functionalized nano-materials View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Chidinma Gloria Olorunnisola on 12 May 2023.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Environmental Processes (2023) 10:20
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-023-00636-9

RESEARCH

CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal

of Antibiotics and Antibiotic‑resistant Bacteria from Water

Abisola O. Egbedina1 · Chidinma G. Ugwuja2 · Peter A. Dare3 ·

Hassan D. Sulaiman1 · Bamidele I. Olu‑Owolabi1 · Kayode O. Adebowale1

Received: 7 November 2022 / Accepted: 5 May 2023

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

Abstract
Peanut husk was used to prepare biochar (PHC) for water treatment. The biochar was modified
with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB (PHC-CTAB). PHC and PHC-CTAB were used
to remove tetracycline (TET), amoxicillin (AMX) and antibiotics-resistant bacteria Escherichia
coli from water. The surface properties of the adsorbents were identified using Fourier Transform
Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM),
and Elemental Dispersive X-ray technique (EDX), which confirmed the successful incorpora-
tion of CTAB into the biochar. The presence of CTAB resulted in increased adsorption capaci-
ties for the antibiotics. For tetracycline and amoxicillin, PHC-CTAB showed maximum adsorp-
tion capacities of 272 mg/g and 305 mg/g, respectively, whereas PHC had maximum adsorption
capacities of 71.8 and 284 mg/g for TET and AMX. The mechanism was studied using adsorp-
tion kinetic models, with the results establishing that the adsorption proceeded mainly via phy-
sisorption for TET and chemisorption for AMX. PHC-CTAB resulted in the permanent deacti-
vation of antibiotics-resistant Escherichia coli strain E11 (ARE) with 1.5 × ­108 cfu/mL removed
in 60 min, while PHC had only a temporary effect. When the toxicities of the adsorbents were
tested on Lemna minor (duckweed), the results revealed that neither PHC nor PHC-CTAB had
any toxic effects on the plant since the adsorbents did not prevent the duckweed from growing. In
conclusion, PHC and PHC-CTAB are efficient adsorbents for removing antibiotics and antibi-
otic-resistant bacteria from water.

Highlights
• Peanut husk biochar (PHC) and CTAB-modified peanut husk biochar (PHC-CTAB) were
tested.
• The two adsorbents removed antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
• PHC-CTAB provided the highest removal efficiency for tetracycline and amoxicillin.
• Adsorption capacities of PHC-CTAB for tetracycline and amoxicillin were 272 and
305 mg/g.
• PHC-CTAB had a permanent bactericidal effect on antibiotics-resistant Escherichia coli
strain E11.

Keywords Adsorption · Antibiotics · Antibiotic-resistant bacteria · Peanut husks · Biochar ·

Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

Extended author information available on the last page of the article

13
Vol.:(0123456789)
 20 Page 2 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

1 Introduction

Antibiotics inhibit bacterial growth and have been widely used to treat bacterial infections
in humans and animals (Alnajrani and Alsager 2020). However, only a small percentage
(10%—30%) of these drugs are completely metabolized, with the remainder being excreted
unchanged or as metabolites in urine and faeces (Sabri et al. 2020), where they enter the
water bodies and/or reach wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The natural water bodies
and WWTPs do not have sufficient ability to remove antibiotics resulting in their contin-
ued presence in significant quantities in the environment (Huang et al. 2021; Ugwuja et al.
2021). As a result, pharmaceutical residues have also been detected in food, plants and
soils (Krasucka et al. 2021; Zhan et al 2020).
Antibiotics in the environment have been linked to acute and chronic toxicity in humans,
including endocrine disruption and genotoxicity, even at low concentrations (Baaloudj
et al. 2021; Imanipoor et al. 2021). Furthermore, their presence in the environment has
aided the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) (Bao et al. 2020;
Ugwuja et al. 2019). Antibiotics and the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have
been labelled health hazards and priority emerging pollutants by the World Health Organi-
zation (Krasucka et al. 2021; Li et al. 2020; Ugwuja et al. 2019). It is anticipated that if
suitable measures are not put in place by 2025, ARB will result in the deaths of several
million people per year (Dadgostar 2019).
With the inability of WWTPs to adequately eliminate antibiotics and antibiotic-resist-
ant bacteria, several alternative advanced treatment methods have been employed. These
methods include chlorination, membrane filtration techniques (Li et al 2022; Liang et al.
2021), and advanced oxidation processes (Rathinavelu et al. 2023). However, some studies
have shown that chlorination has been found to have no effect in removing ARB, while in
other studies, it prompted the development of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) (Sharma
et al. 2019). In addition, there have been issues relating to the regrowth of bacteria (Ahmed
et al. 2021). Biological activated carbon and sand filtration can also increase their resist-
ance to antibiotics while raising the relative abundance of ARGs present (Su et al. 2018).
Advanced oxidation techniques such as photocatalysis and the Fenton process (Kamal et al.
2022; Sabri et al. 2020; Titchou et al. 2021), among others, are costly and unsuitable for
use in Nigeria’s low-income communities. Because of its high efficiency, versatility, sim-
plicity and low cost, adsorption is one of the most extensively employed technologies for
removing pollutants from water (Anthony et al. 2021). In addition, they may easily be inte-
grated into current wastewater treatment systems (Adebowale et al. 2020) to ensure that
these micropollutants are removed before they reach the environment.
Carbon adsorbents which include activated carbon, biochar, graphene, and carbon nano-
tubes (Hosseinzadeh et al. 2019; Khanday et al. 2021) have remarkable properties such
as high surface areas and highly developed and tunable porosity, making them suitable
materials for the treatment of water (Egbedina et al. 2022). Majorly, these materials are
produced from low-cost agricultural by-products such as sugarcane bagasse (Qin et al.
2019), corn cob, wheat straw, corn leaf, rice chaff and shrimp waste (Chang et al. 2020;
Kanthasamy et al. 2020; Han et al. 2021) which are hitherto discarded and result in envi-
ronmental pollution. Their usage as adsorbents can lead to waste-to-wealth since they are
renewable resources, safe and available in large quantities. Peanut husk is an alternative
and inexpensive material for the preparation of biochar due to its abundance and high cel-
lulose content which offers functional groups that are ideal for capturing pollutants (Aryee
et al. 2021). Several functionalized carbon materials from peanut husk have been employed

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 3 of 20 20

in the removal of contaminants such as heavy metals (Bai et al. 2020; Liu et al. 2018; Wei
et al. 2020), dyes (Garg et al. 2019; Wu et al. 2019) and pharmaceuticals (Djedouani et al.
2016; Islam et al. 2019; Zhang et al. 2020).
Escherichia coli has long been recognized as a relevant testing microorganism for
water disinfection. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) is a hydrophilic quaternary
ammonium group with a hydrophobic alkyl chain that has significant bactericidal potential
and is often used for disinfection and sanitation in a range of fields as it induces irreversible
cellular damage and impedes bacterial growth (Zandipak and Sobhanardakani 2018). Acti-
vation with CTAB can change the surface properties of adsorbents, particularly affecting
their hydrophobicity and enhancing their adsorption of gram-negative bacteria (Zandipak
and Sobhanardakani 2018).
Several studies have reported the modification of adsorbents with cetyltrimethylammo-
nium bromide for improved adsorption efficiency (Pauzan and Ahad 2018; Salam 2019).
To our knowledge, no research on the application of these functionalised carbon materi-
als for the elimination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been published. The goal of this
study was to evaluate the efficiency of CTAB-modified peanut husk biochar (PHC-CTAB)
for the adsorption of tetracycline and amoxicillin and disinfection of water containing anti-
biotic-resistant Escherichia coli strain E11 (ARE).

2 Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials

Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB (­C19H42BrN, 97% purity), tetracycline and

amoxicillin were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. The chemicals were used directly without
further pre-treatment. All other chemicals and reagents used were of analytical grade.

2.2 Preparation of PHC Adsorbent

The peanut husks (PH) were obtained from local markets in Ibadan, Nigeria, were washed
with distilled water, sun-dried for three (3) days, and then dried in an oven at 60 °C for
24 h. 5 g of finely ground peanut husk were heated to 600 °C for 1 h in an oxygen-limited
environment. The product obtained as a black sample (PHC) was rinsed to neutral pH,
dried at 60 °C for 24 h, and then stored.

2.3 Preparation of PHC‑CTAB Adsorbent

50 mL of CTAB solution was prepared by dissolving 5 g of CTAB powder in 100 mL of

distilled water. 5 g of the peanut husk was added to this solution and gently stirred over-
night. This was followed by filtration and drying at 60 °C. This was subsequently carbon-
ised as in 2.2.1, washed and dried at 60 °C for 24 h.

2.4 Characterisation of Adsorbents

To identify the functional groups on the adsorbents, a Fourier Transform InfraRed spec-
trophotometer (Perkin Elmer spectrum) was used in the range of 4000 to 500 ­cm−1. The

13
 20 Page 4 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

morphology and elemental compositions of the adsorbents were identified using an

Electron Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer and a high-resolution scanning electron
microscope. On a BRUKER AXS (Germany) D8 Advance X-ray Diffractometer, X-ray
diffraction (XRD) data of the adsorbents were acquired in locked coupled mode with
Cu-K radiation and quantified at 40 kV and 2θ range of 0.5–130° and 0.5 s/step. The
salt addition method reported by Kosmulski et al (2019) was modified slightly to obtain
the pH at the point of zero charge (pHpzc). To do this, 20 mL of 0.01 M potassium chlo-
ride solution adjusted to pH values between 2 to 10 was mixed with 0.1 g of each adsor-
bent. After 24 h, the final pH values of each solution were measured. The difference
between the initial and final pH values were calculated and plotted against the initial
pH. The point at which the change in pH equals zero was taken as the pHpzc.

2.5 Adsorption Studies

Adsorptions of tetracycline and amoxicillin onto the prepared adsorbents were investi-
gated using the batch mode of water treatment. This was done by mixing 5 mg of either
PHC or PHC-CTAB with 25 mL of an aqueous solution of the pollutants at 150 rpm
for 4 h. Equilibrium studies were conducted at varying concentrations ranging from
10–300 mg ­L−1. Kinetic studies were conducted by varying contact times from 30 min
to 4 h. The effect of pH was studied from pH values of 2 to 12, while the effect of adsor-
bent mass was studied by varying adsorbent mass from 0.1 to 0.5 g. The experiments
were carried out in triplicate. Pollutants remaining in the solution were determined
using a UV–Vis (Shimadzu UV-2550) spectrophotometer. The equilibrium adsorption
capacity ­(qe) and adsorption efficiency (% adsorption) of the synthesized adsorbents for
the antibiotics were calculated using Eqs. (1) and (2), respectively:
( )
Co − Ce V
qe = (1)
m
( )
Co − Ce
% adsorption = × 100 (2)
Co

where ­Co and C­ e (mg ­L−1) are the initial and equilibrium concentrations of adsorbates, m
(g) is the mass of the adsorbent, and V (L) is the volume of the solution of the adsorbate.

2.6 Antimicrobial Screening Susceptibility Test

The disc diffusion method was used to test the susceptibility of the Escherichia coli
strain E11 to several antibiotics. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)
guidelines were used to measure and interpret the diameters of the inhibition zones sur-
rounding each disc. The Escherichia coli strain E11 was resistant to nine different medi-
cations, including sulfamethoxazole, amoxicillin, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, ertapenem,
gentamicin, cefepime, and cefpodoxime. Ugwuja et al. (2021) provided a thorough
description of the method for isolating Escherichia coli strain E11 and conducting an
antibiotic susceptibility test on it.

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 5 of 20 20

2.7 Antibacterial Activity Studies

To evaluate the efficiency of the prepared composites in removing antibiotic-resistant

Escherichia coli (ARE) in water, a sample of sterile water was initially cultured to ensure
the absence of the target organisms in the water. 1 mL of 0.5 McFarland standard (1.5 × ­108
cells/mL) cell suspension of the ARE was aseptically dispensed into 50 mL sterile water
in a 100 mL conical flask labelled accordingly. 100 mg of each PHC and PHC-CTAB was
added into two flasks and labelled. The experiment was done in triplicate (Kargar et al.
2021).
In addition, a control flask was employed with 1 mL of 0.5 McFarland standard
(1.5 × ­108 cells/mL) cell suspension of ARE dispensed into 50 mL sterile water without the
adsorbents. All flasks were agitated in a rotary shaker (220 rpm) for 90 min at room tem-
perature. Before and after the treatment, aliquots (1 mL) of the contaminated water were
taken into sterile bottles and analysed at intervals of 15 min. 20 µL of each sample col-
lected at regular intervals was aseptically spread with a sterile glass spreader onto Mueller
Hinton Agar plates to test for bacterial inactivation. The plates were incubated at 37 ℃ for
24 h and were observed for clear zones of the test organisms. The experiment was carried
out in triplicate.

2.8 Determination of Toxicity Effect of the Adsorbents on Lemna minor (Duckweed)

The cytotoxicity effect of the two prepared adsorbents (PHC and PHC-CTAB) was car-
ried out on Lemna minor (duckweed). In this study, 0.5 g wet weight of duckweed was
rinsed with 0.01 M of NaOCl and cultured on a petri dish containing 20 mL of sterile water
with 2 g/L of the adsorbents. Control plates were prepared with 0.5 g of duckweed, wet
weight, in a petri dish containing 20 mL of sterile water. All culture was carried out in
duplicates and incubated at room temperature for 24 h in the presence of light rays. The
culture plates were observed for Lemna minor growth inhibition (Wang et al. 2021).

2.9 Determination of Chlorophyll Content of the Lemna minor (Duckweed)

Chlorophyll is composed of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. They absorb light and have
various maximums of absorption. Chlorophyll a absorbs at 663 nm, while chlorophyll b
absorbs at 645 nm. 0.5 g of the wet weight of Lemna minor (duckweed) was homoge-
nised with 80% acetone (40 mL per gram). The homogenate was centrifuged at 2500 rpm
for 10 min. The supernatant was taken, and the absorbance was measured at 400–700 nm
(Mahdi Al-Nabhan 2022).
Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll level were calculated using the fol-
lowing formula:
( ) ( )
Total chlorophyll (g∕L) = (0.0202) 0.D645 + (0.0082) 0.D663

( ) ( )
Chlorophyll a (g∕L) = (0.0127) 0.D663 − (0.00269) 0.D645

( ) ( )
Chlorophyll b (g∕L) = (0.0229) 0.D645 − (0.00488) 0.D663

13
 20 Page 6 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Physicochemical Characterization of Adsorbents

The functional groups present on adsorbents are very essential in the adsorption process, as
they serve as sites for the attachment of contaminants and can confirm the successful modi-
fication of adsorbents. Therefore, FTIR analysis was used mainly to identify the functional
groups present in the prepared adsorbents. Notably, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are
the main components of peanut husk. Figure 1 shows the FTIR of PHC and PHC-CTAB.
The broad band around 3401 ­cm−1 in PHC can be attributed to adsorbed water, surface
hydroxyl groups and amine groups on peanut husk (Song et al. 2011). This peak shifted
from 3401 ­cm−1 to 3439 ­cm−1 in PHC-CTAB due to the modification of the adsorbent with
CTAB. It has been reported in the literature that modification of peanut husk can cause
swelling that leads to a breakdown of structural linkages between carbohydrates and lignin,
increased internal surface area, polymerization and a decrease in crystallinity (Kucharska
et al. 2018). The peak at 1066 ­cm−1 in both PHC and PHC-CTAB is attributed to the C-O
functional group of carboxylic acid. The absorption peak at 1427 ­cm−1 is present in PHC-
CTAB but absent in PHC. This confirms the successful modification of peanut husk as this
peak corresponds to the C-H scissoring vibrations of a ­CH3-N+ moiety (Saman et al. 2020;
Yao et al. 2020).
The relative amounts of surface charge density of the prepared adsorbents at differ-
ent pH values were characterized through pH at point of zero charge (­ pHpzc) measure-
ment. ­pHpzc of both adsorbents were done since the target contaminants are known to
behave differently depending on the pH of the aqueous solution. Contaminants and
adsorbents may be attracted to or repellent to each other depending on the solution’s
pH and the degree to which the contaminants are protonated or deprotonated (Abu-
Danso et al. 2019). The ­pHpzc values of PHC and PHC-CTAB (Fig. 2) were determined
to be 4.99 and 6.04, respectively. This implies that the net surface charge of PHC and
PHC-CTAB will become more positively charged as the pH of the solution decreases

130
PHC
120 PHC-CTAB

110
Intensity (a.u.)

100

90

80

70

60

4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500

-1
Wavenumber (cm )

Fig. 1  FTIR spectra of PHC and PHC-CTAB

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 7 of 20 20

4
PHC
PHC-CTAB
3

1
pH

0
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-1
Initial pH
-2

-3

Fig. 2  pHpzc plot of PHC and PHC-CTAB

below their ­pHpzc and become negatively charged as the pH of the solution increases
above their p­ Hpzc. Modification with CTAB made the surface of PHC-CTAB more pos-
itively charged, giving rise to a ­pHpzc value of 6.04. Similar results were obtained by
Yao et al. (2020), where the addition of CTAB increased the ­pHpzc value of the modi-
fied adsorbent.
The HR-SEM images of PHC and PHC-CTAB shown in Fig. 3 reveal uneven structures
with rough, non-uniform size distribution. After modification with CTAB, the surface of
the adsorbent changed to a less aggregated morphology with more visible pores. Addition-
ally, rod-like structures were formed on PHC-CTAB, which is explained by the inclusion
of CTAB in the modified adsorbent. The average particle sizes of PHC and PHC-CTAB
obtained from the images are 100 nm and 83 nm, respectively.
The elemental compositions of the adsorbents as obtained by EDX analysis are shown
in Table 1 as the % weight of the elements present. Results show that the elements pre-
sent in PHC are C, Al, O, Na, Mg, K, Ca, Si and P. This is similar to results reported for
mangosteen shells biochar (Shan et al. 2020), in which C, O, Cl, Na, K, Ca, and Mg were
the predominant elements. However, with the introduction of CTAB, Na, Mg, Si, P and K
were not found in PHC-CTAB. It could be said that the introduction of CTAB, a cationic
surfactant, could have led to an exchange of the organic cations with the inorganic cations
within the adsorbent (Ulhaq et al. 2021). Therefore, it may be suggested that cetyltrimeth-
ylammonium cations have replaced inorganic cations such as ­Na+ and ­K+ in the adsorbent.
The XRD patterns of PHC and PHC-CTAB composites are shown in Fig. 4. Each pat-
tern has two distinct broad and weak bands that can be seen at 25° and 43° which stand for
the (002) and (101) planes of graphite, respectively. This implies the presence of amor-
phous carbon in the adsorbents (Bai et al. 2020).
The average crystallite size (­La) was calculated using Scherrer’s formula (Qiu et al.
2019):
kλ
La =
β002 cosθ002 (3)

La is the estimated crystallite size (nm); k is the Scherrer’s constant; λ is the x-ray
wavelength of radiation (nm); β002 is the full width at half maximum (radian); and θ002 is

13
 20 Page 8 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

a b

c d

Fig. 3  SEM images of (a), (b) PHC and (c), (d) PHC-CTAB

Table 1  Elemental composition Element PHC (weight %) PHC-CTAB

of PHC and PHC-CTAB (weight %)

C 84.4 83.6
O 11.94 13.08
Na 0.25 -
Mg 0.24 -
Al 0.09 1.15
Si 0.23 -
P 0.36 -
K 1.5 -
Ca 1.04 2.16

the diffraction angle (degrees). The values of the crystallite sizes were 8.3 and 5.5 nm for
PHC and PHC-CTAB, respectively. On modification, the crystallite size for PHC-CTAB
decreased. This agrees with the results obtained from SEM imaging in which PHC-CTAB

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 9 of 20 20

PHC
PHC-CTAB
Intensity (a.u.)

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
2 (degrees)
Fig. 4  XRD diffractogram of PHC and PHC-CTAB

had a smaller particle size. This shows that modification with CTAB produced a material
with smaller crystallite sizes (Liu et al. 2018; Prajapati and Mondal 2021).

3.2 Batch Adsorption Studies

3.2.1 Effect of pH

Solution pH is an important parameter in adsorption as it determines the surface characteristics

of adsorbent and adsorbate. The adsorptions of TET and AMX on PHC and PHC-CTAB inves-
tigated within the pH range of 2 to 12 are shown in Fig. 5. As can be observed from Fig. 5(a), the
adsorption of TET was significantly dependent on pH. Adsorption of TET on PHC was found
to decrease as solution pH increased with maximum adsorption occurring at pH 2 while maxi-
mum adsorption of TET on PHC-CTAB occurred at pH 6. This result conforms with the result
reported by Bansal (2013) and Zhang et al. (2019) in which TET adsorption was found to be
optimum at pH 3 and 2, respectively. The chemistry of TET changes depending on the pH. The
carbonyl group is protonated at pKa 3.3, the molecule is a zwitterion at pH 7.7 and drops its pro-
tons between 7.7 and 9.7 (Zandipak and Sobhanardakani 2018). With a ­pHpzc (Fig. 2) of 4.99 for
PHC, it is expected that adsorption will be low at this pH due to electrostatic repulsion between
the positively charged TET and positive charges on the adsorbent. The results obtained show that
the adsorbents have a stronger affinity for the cationic form of TET resulting in cation exchange
between the charges on the adsorbent and TET in solution (Zhang et al. 2018). At the maximum
adsorption of pH 6, TET is in its zwitterionic form and PHC-CTAB was electrically neutral.
Change in pH did not significantly affect the adsorption of AMX on PHC, but it did have
an effect on its adsorption on PHC-CTAB. As the pH rose from 2 to 4, the adsorption capac-
ity increased from 2.35 to 5.89 mg/g, with pH 4 providing the best condition for adsorption.
Cation exchange mechanism can be used to explain this outcome. The protonated functional
groups in amoxicillin, which have a positive charge at a low pH because the carbonyl groups
on AMX are ionized, are exchanged for the cations on PHC-CTAB. As the pH increased,

13
 20 Page 10 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

a b
6 7
PHC
5 PHC-CTAB
6

qe (mg/g)
qe (mg/g)

4
5

3
4

2
PHC
3 PHC-CTAB
1
2
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12
pH pH
Fig. 5  Effect of pH on (a) TET (b) AMX adsorption on PHC and PHC-CTAB

there were fewer ­H+, and more ­OH− ions present in the solution, which decreased the num-
ber of positive charges in the solution and on the adsorbent. This caused the amount of
AMX removed to be lower than that obtained in an acidic solution.

3.3 Kinetic Studies

The kinetic models pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion

(Ayawei et al. 2017) were applied to the experimental data to explore the adsorption mech-
anisms of TET and AMX on PHC and PHC-CTAB. The non-linear equations of these
models are given as Eqs. (4) and (5):
Pseudo − f irst − order ∶ qt = qe − exp(lnqe − K1 t) (4)

qe 2 K2 t
Pseudo − second − order ∶ qt = (5)
qe K2 t + 1

where t is the adsorption time (min), q­ e and q­ t (mg/g) are the adsorption capacities at
equilibrium, and K ­ 1(min-1) and ­K2 (g/mg ­min-1) denote the adsorption rate constants of
the pseudo-first and pseudo-second orderkinetic models, respectively. The kinetic plots
for the adsorption of the examined pollutants on the adsorbents are shown in Fig. 6(a-d).
TET adsorption on PHC-CTAB was better fit by the pseudo-first-order kinetics of the two
kinetic models used to fit the experimental data. This means that the adsorption is governed
by first-order kinetics, in which the rate of adsorption is proportional to the adsorbate con-
centration, characterizing physical adsorption. The pseudo-second-order kinetics provided
a better fit to the data of TET on PHC, indicating that adsorption may have proceeded via
chemisorption. From Table 2, the k values obtained for both the pseudo-first and second-
order kinetic models showed that the adsorption of TET on PHC (­ k1 = 0.018; ­k2 = 0.006) is
faster than PHC-CTAB (­ k1 = 0.08; ­k2 = 0.015).

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 11 of 20 20

a 7
b 9

6 8

5 7
q t (m g/g)

q t (mg/g)
4 6

5
3
4
2 E xperimental E xperimental
– P seudo first order 3 – P seudo first order
1
– P seudo second order 2 – P seudo second order
0
50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100 150 200 250
t (mins) t (mins)

c 7.2
d 3

2.8
7.15 2.6
q t (m g/g)
q t (m g/g)

2.4
7.1
2.2

2
7.05 Experimental Experimental
– P seudo first order 1.8
– P seudo first order
– P seudo second order 1.6 – P seudo second order
7
0 50 100 150 200 250 0 50 100 150 200 250
t (mins) t (mins)

Fig. 6  Kinetic plots of the adsorption of TET on (a) PHC, (b) PHC-CTAB; and AMX on (c) PHC, and (d)
PHC-CTAB

Table 2  Kinetic parameters of Parameters PHC PHC-CTAB

the adsorption of TET and AMX
on PHC and PHC-CTAB TET AMX TET AMX

Pseudo-first-order qe 5.78 7.12 7.07 2.57

K1 0.0178 0.836 0.0878 0.189
R2 0.439 0.475 0.781 0.681
Pseudo-second-order qe 6.17 7.13 7.54 2.66
K2 0.00616 1.55 0.0152 0.126
R2 0.412 0.637 0.729 0.692

For AMX adsorption, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model better fits the adsorp-
tion on PHC and PHC-CTAB. This model assumes that the rate-limiting step is chem-
isorption and that the adsorption capacity is proportional to the number of active sites.
Adsorption that follows this model is usually assumed to be controlled by chemical
forces of interactions (Varank et al. 2012). This result is comparable to that obtained
with the removal of congo red dye on mixed metal oxides (Prajapati and Mondal 2021).

13
 20 Page 12 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

3.3.1 Isotherm Studies

Isotherm investigations reveal details about the adsorption process, such as how adsorbents
and adsorbates interact. This method of interaction is investigated by finding a model that
fits the adsorption data effectively. The non-linear equations of the Langmuir, Freundlich,
and Sips isotherms were applied in this work. Figure 7(a-d) depicts the isotherm plots.
From these plots, it can be seen that none of the models satisfactorily fit the experimental
data. However, for TET adsorption on both adsorbents, the Freundlich isotherm provided
the best match to the experimental results ­(R2 = 0.961 and 0.975 for PHC and PHC-CTAB,
respectively). Adsorption that better fits this model is assumed to be reversible, with mul-
tilayers of adsorbate forming on the adsorbent (Alnajrani and Alsager 2020). The Sips iso-
therm is closely followed by the Freundlich isotherm with ­R2 of 0.942 and 0.962 for PHC
and PHC-CTAB, respectively. According to the Sips model (Table 3), PHC had a maxi-
mum uptake capacity (­ qmax) of 71.75 mg/g and PHC-CTAB had 272.31 mg/g.
The adsorption of AMX, on the other hand, followed the Sips isotherm for both PHC
and PHC-CTAB with maximal adsorption capacities of 28.48 and 305.61 mg/g, respec-
tively. The fit to this isotherm implies multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces
involving many physical and chemical interactions although several similar studies
show that adsorption on various CTAB-modified adsorbents occurred only via chemical
adsorption (Mohebali et al. 2019; Rosanti et al. 2022; Shirzad-Siboni et al. 2015). This
can be attributed to the nature of the adsorbents which were shown to be complex with

a 12
b 20

10
15
8
q e (mg/g)

q e (mg/g)

6 10
E xperimental E xperimental
4 – Langmuir – Langmuir
– F reundlich 5 – F reundlich
2 – B-S – B-S
– S ips – S ips
0 0
10 20 30 40 50 6 7 8 9
C e (mg/L) C e (mg/L)

c 5
d 6
E xperimental
5 – Langmuir
4 – F reundlich
4 – B-S
q e (mg/g)

q e (mg/g)

3 – S ips
3
2 E xperimental
– Langmuir 2
– F reundlich
1
– B-S 1
– S ips
0 0
10 20 30 40 50 60 10 20 30 40 50
C e (mg/L) C e (mg/L)

Fig. 7  Isotherm plots of the adsorption of (a) TET and (b) AMX on PHC; and (c) TET, and (d) AMX on
PHC-CTAB

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 13 of 20 20

Table 3  Isotherm parameters for the adsorption of TET and AMX on PHC and PHC-CTAB
Parameters PHC PHC-CTAB
TET AMX TET AMX

Langmuir q0 (mg/g) 249.44 734.47 787.806 168.05

KL 8.32 × ­10–5 0.00017 9.62 × ­10–5 4.94 × ­10–5
R2 0.910 0.1963 0.939 0.712
Freundlich KF 0.0512 0.000124 0.0202 0.00106
nF 0.724 0.186 0.748 0.465
R2 0.961 0.973 0.975 0.862
Sips Qmax (mg/g) 71.74 28.485 272.314 305.613
Ks 0.0064 0.116 0.000849 0.00297
ns 1.483 9.341 1.349 2.168
R2 0.942 0.981 0.962 0.948

heterogeneous surface structures. Table 4 compares the adsorption capacities obtained for
PHC and PHC-CTAB in this study with other carbon adsorbents reported in the literature
for the same pollutants. It can be seen that PHC and PHC-CTAB performed better than
these adsorbents, and are therefore promising adsorbent materials for water treatment.

3.4 Bactericidal Activity

The bactericidal activities of the prepared composites PHC and PHC-CTAB were evalu-
ated for the removal of antibiotic-resistant E. coli strain E11 (ARE) in an aqueous solution
using the batch adsorption technique. The results of the two adsorbents in the removal of
1.5 × ­108 cells/mL are shown in Fig. 8. The number of viable cells which form colonies
on the agar plates is estimated as the number of survived bacteria. It was observed that at
15 and 30 min, both PHC and PHC-CTAB were effective in the complete removal of the
ARE present in the aqueous solution respectively. However, as the reaction time increases
to 45 min of treatment, two colonies of the ARE were observed in each of the PHC and
PHC-CTAB cultured agar plates. At 60 min of treatment, 8 colonies were observed on
PHC-CTAB and a single colony was observed on PHC. At 90 min of treatment, about 72
colonies were observed on PHC-CTAB plates, while PHC cultured plate showed a single

Table 4  Comparison of adsorption capacities for tetracycline and amoxicillin by carbon adsorbents
Adsorbent Pollutant Adsorption Reference
capacity (mg/g)

Graphene oxide TET 133.0 Li et al. 2023

Wheat stalk biochar TET 84.54 Xiang et al. 2020
Lanthanum-modified carbon nanotubes TET 93.46 Wu et al. 2022
Activated carbon/iron nanoparticles AMX 40.28 Ali et al. (2020)
CoFe2O4-modified biochar AMX 99.99 Chakhtouna et al. 2021
ZnO-carbon nanofiber composite AMX 156.0 Chaba and Nomngongo 2019

13
 20 Page 14 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

15 minutes 30 minutes 45 minutes

60 minutes 90 minutes

Fig. 8  Removal of antibiotics-resistant Escherichia coli strain E11 (ARE) in water with PHC and PHC-
CTAB composite [*Ph1 = PHC; ­Ph2 = PHC-CTAB]

colony of ARE. This implies that as reaction time increases, the efficiencies of the materials
are reduced.

3.4.1 Re‑growth of Multi‑drug Resistance Escherichia coli in Treated Water

The regrowth of ARE at different experimental times was examined to check if the inac-
tivation of the bacteria signified their permanent inactivation or temporary inactivation,
which could result in their regrowth. Re-growth studies were done on the treated water
after 24 h of treatment as shown in Fig. 9. The experiment showed that inactivation of the

a b c

Fig. 9  Re-growth experiment of water collected at (a)15 min (b) 30 min (c) 45 min after treatment of anti-
biotic-resistant Escherichia coli with PHC and PHC-CTAB composite against ( [*Ph1 = PHC; ­Ph2 = PHC-
CTAB]

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 15 of 20 20

ARE in the treatment with PHC-CTAB signifies their permanent death, as no colonies were
formed on the cultured plates at the experimental times investigated, while on PHC treated
water, 2 colonies were observed at 15 min and 1 colony at 30 min. This could be a result
of contamination during analysis. However, at 45 min, about 47 colonies were observed.
This is in contrast to the 2 colonies seen after the bacterial treatment (Fig. 8). This suggests
that the inactivation of ARE with PHC signifies temporary inactivation resulting in the re-
activation/regrowth of the model pathogen. Modification with CTAB enhanced its residual
effect against ARE, resulting in permanent inactivation. This result further suggests that
PHC-CTAB has a higher residual disinfection effect than PHC. It has been reported that
CTAB is an antibacterial agent that induces superoxide stress in bacteria (Nakata et al.
2011). PHC-CTAB has increased hydrophilicity because of the presence of CTAB, a qua-
ternary surfactant (Samantaray et al. 2019). This hydrophilicity causes increased interac-
tion with the bacteria leading to the association of the positively charged quaternary nitro-
gen of CTAB and the negatively charged head groups in the bacterial cell wall. As a result,
the outer membrane of the bacteria becomes permeable, and the N ­ + on CTAB causes intra-
cellular contents to leak (Samantaray et al. 2018) and leads to the death of the bacteria. The
results obtained also suggest that incorporating the surfactant onto the adsorbent did not
significantly reduce its residual toxicity.

3.5 Determination of Toxicity Effect of PHC and PHC‑CTAB on Lemna minor

(Duckweed)

Aquatic plants such as duckweed are commonly used for toxicological testing because
they are easy to grow and are sensitive to hazardous chemicals or wastewater contaminants
(Choi et al. 2012). In this study, duckweed was used to evaluate the effect of CTAB on the
photosynthetic ability of the plant. This was done by measuring the chlorophyll content of
the prepared adsorbents. Pollutants have been known to affect photosynthetic and enzyme
functions and disrupt nutrient balance, resulting in stunted growth and chlorosis (Aboe-
lkassem et al. 2022). The result of the phytotoxicity test of PHC and PHC-CTAB on Lemna
minor (duckweed) is shown in Fig. 10. The adsorbents had no toxic effect on duckweed as
the growth of the duckweed was not inhibited by the adsorbents.

3.5.1 Determination of Total Chlorophyll Content of Duckweed

The chlorophyll content of duckweed, shown in Table 5, revealed that treating it with the
adsorbents had no toxic effect on the plant.

Control PHC PHC-CTAB

Fig. 10  Toxicity study of the adsorbents on duckweed after 24 h of culture

13
 20 Page 16 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

Table 5  Total chlorophyll Content (g/L)

contents of duckweed
Chlorophyll Control PHC PHC-CTAB

Chlorophyll a 0.0051 0.0051 0.005

Chlorophyll b 0.0069 0.0069 0.0068
Total chlorophyll 0.0128 0.0122 0.0119

4 Conclusions

This research studied the adsorption of amoxicillin, tetracycline and antibiotic-resist-

ant bacteria, Escherichia coli strain E11, onto peanut husk biochar and its surfactant-
modified derivative. Batch adsorption experiments showed that the removal of AMX
and TET was pH-dependent. Kinetic data was well described by the pseudo-second-
order models for AMX and TET except for TET on PHC-CTAB which was described
by the pseudo-first-order model. The adsorption on the heterogeneous surfaces of
PHC and PHC-CTAB, respectively, was shown by the best fit of the adsorption data
to the Freundlich isotherm. Adsorption tests on ARE (Escherichia coli) revealed that
both adsorbents were effective in their removal from the aqueous solution. While PHC
only temporarily rendered the bacteria ineffective, PHC-CTAB resulted in their per-
manent deactivation. Phytotoxicity effects of PHC and PHC-CTAB tested on Lemna
minor showed that the prepared adsorbents had no toxic effect on duckweed as the
growth of the duckweed was not inhibited by the adsorbents. The study, therefore,
showed that the prepared adsorbents are promising materials for removing these pollut-
ants from aqueous solutions.

Author’s Contribution Abisola O. Egbedina: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—original draft,

Formal analysis, Investigation. Chidinma. G Ugwuja: Investigation, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writ-
ing—original draft. Peter A. Dare: Investigation. Hassan Sulaiman: Investigation. Bamidele I. Olu-Owolabi:
Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing—review & editing, Project administration. Kayode O. Adebowale:
Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing—review & editing, Project administration.

Funding The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of
this manuscript.

Data Availability The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from
the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Declarations
Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

References
Aboelkassem A, Alzamel NM, Alzai MN, Loutfy N (2022) Effect of Pb-contaminated water on Ludwigia
stolonifera (Guill. & Perr.) P.H. Raven Physiology and Phytoremediation Performance. Plants
11(5):636.https://​doi.​org/​10.​3390/​plant​s1105​0636

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 17 of 20 20

Abu-Danso E, Bagheri A, Bhatnagar A (2019) Facile functionalization of cellulose from discarded ciga-
rette butts for the removal of diclofenac from water. Carbohyd Polym 219:46–55. https://​doi.​org/​10.​
1016/j.​carbp​ol.​2019.​04.​090
Adebowale KO, Egbedina AO, Shonde BT (2020) Adsorption of lead ions on magnetically separable ­­Fe3O4
watermelon composite. Appl Water Sci 10:225. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s13201-​020-​01307-y
Ahmed Y, Zhong J, Yuan Z, Guo J (2021) Simultaneous removal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, antibi-
otic resistance genes, and micropollutants by a modified photo-Fenton process. Water Res 197:117075.
https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​watres.​2021.​117075
Ali I, Afshinb S, Poureshgh Y, Azari A, Rashtbari Y, Feizizadeh A, Hamzezadeh A, Fazlzadeh M (2020)
Green preparation of activated carbon from pomegranate peel coated with zero-valent iron nanoparti-
cles (nZVI) and isotherm and kinetic studies of amoxicillin removal in water. Environ Sci Pollut Res
27:36732–36743
Alnajrani MN, Alsager OA (2020) Removal of Antibiotics from Water by Polymer of Intrinsic Microporos-
ity: Isotherms, Kinetics, Thermodynamics, and Adsorption Mechanism. Sci Rep 10:794. https://​doi.​
org/​10.​1038/​s41598-​020-​57616-4
Anthony ET, Ojemaye MO, Okoh AI, Okoh OO (2021) Potentials of low-cost methods for the removal of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their genes in low-budget communities: A review. J Water Process Eng
40:101919. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jwpe.​2021.​101919
Aryee AA, Mpatani FM, Kani AN, Dovi E, Han R, Li Z, Qu L (2021) A review on functionalized adsor-
bents based on peanut husk for the sequestration of pollutants in wastewater: Modification methods
and adsorption study. J Clean Prod 310:127502. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jclep​ro.​2021.​127502
Ayawei N, Ebelegi AN, Wankasi D (2017) Modelling and interpretation of adsorption isotherms. J Chem
2017:3039817. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1155/​2017/​30398​17
Baaloudj O, Assadi I, Nasrallah N, El Jery A, Khezami L, Assadi AA (2021) Simultaneous removal of
antibiotics and inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria by photocatalysis: A review. J Water Process
Eng 42:102089. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jwpe.​2021.​102089
Bai S, Wang T, Tian Z, Cao K, Li J (2020) Facile preparation of porous biomass charcoal from peanut shell
as adsorbent. Sci Rep 10(1):1–9. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1038/​s41598-​020-​72721-0
Bansal OP (2013) Sorption of Tetracycline, Oxytetracycline, and Chlortetracycline in Illite and Kaolinite
Suspensions. ISRN Environ Chem 2013:694681. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1155/​2013/​694681
Bao J, Wang X, Gu J, Dai X, Zhang K, Wang Q, Ma J, Peng H (2020) Effects of macroporous adsorption
resin on antibiotic resistance genes and the bacterial community during composting. Bioresource Tech-
nol 295:121997. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​biort​ech.​2019.​121997
Chaba JM, Nomngongo PN (2019) Effective adsorptive removal of amoxicillin from aqueous solutions and
wastewater samples using zinc oxide-coated carbon nanofiber composite. Emerg Contam 5:143–149.
https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​emcon.​2019.​04.​001
Chakhtouna H, Benzeid H, Zari N, Bouhfid R (2021) Functional ­CoFe2O4-modified biochar derived from
banana pseudostem as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of amoxicillin from water. Sep Purif Tech-
nol 266:118592
Chang J, Shen Z, Hu X, Schulman E, Cui C, Guo Q, Tian H (2020) Adsorption of Tetracycline by Shrimp
Shell Waste from Aqueous Solutions: Adsorption Isotherm, Kinetics Modeling, and Mechanism. ACS
Omega 5(7):3467–3477. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1021/​acsom​ega.​9b037​81
Choi CJ, Berges JA, Young EB (2012) Rapid effects of diverse toxic water pollutants on chlorophyll a fluo-
rescence: Variable responses among freshwater microalgae. Water Res 46(8):2615–2626. https://​doi.​
org/​10.​1016/j.​watres.​2012.​02.​027
Dadgostar P (2019) Antimicrobial Resistance: Implications and Costs. Infect Drug Resist 12:3903–3910.
https://​doi.​org/​10.​2147/​idr.​s2346​10
Djedouani D, Chabani M, Amrane A, Bensmaili A (2016) Application of shrinking core model to the
adsorption of oxytetracycline onto peanut hull-derived activated carbon in a closed-loop fixed-bed
reactor. Desalin Water Treat 57:14304–14314. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1080/​19443​994.​2015.​10634​58
Egbedina A, Bolade O, Ewuzie U, Lima EC (2022) Emerging trends in the application of carbon-based
materials: A review. J Environ Chem Eng 10(2):107260. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jece.​2022.​107260
Garg D, Majumder CB, Kumar S, Sarkar B (2019) Removal of Direct Blue-86 dye from aqueous solu-
tion using alginate encapsulated activated carbon (PnsAC-alginate) prepared from waste peanut shell. J
Environ Chem Eng 7(5):103365. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jece.​2019.​103365
Han Q, Yang Y, Wang R, Zhang K, Liu N, Hong M (2021) Biochar derived from Agricultural Wastes as a
means of facilitating the degradation of azo dyes by Sulfides. Catalysts 11(4):434. https://​doi.​org/​10.​
3390/​catal​11040​434
Hosseinzadeh S, Liu Z, Graeve J, BKheet M, Libbrecht W, Clercq J, Hulle SV (2019) Recirculating Water
Treatment in Closed Hydroponic Systems: Assessment of Granular Activated Carbon and Soft

13
 20 Page 18 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

Templated Mesoporous Carbon for Adsorptive Removal of Root Exudates. Environ Process 6:1–23.
https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s40710-​019-​00347-0
Huang A, Yan M, Lin J, Xu L, Gong H, Gong H (2021) A review of processes for removing antibiotics from
breeding wastewater. Int J Environ Res Public Health 18(9):4909. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3390/​ijerp​h1809​4909
Imanipoor J, Mohammadi M, Dinari M, Ehsani MR (2021) Adsorption and Desorption of Amoxicillin Anti-
biotic from Water Matrices Using an Effective and Recyclable MIL-53(Al) Metal-Organic Framework
Adsorbent. J Chem Eng Data 66(1):389–403. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1021/​acs.​jced.​0c007​36
Islam MT, Hyder AG, Saenz-Arana R, Hernandez C, Guinto T, Ahsan MA, Alvarado-Tenorio B, Noveron
JC (2019) Removal of methylene blue and tetracycline from water using peanut shell derived adsorbent
prepared by sulfuric acid reflux. J Environ Chem Eng 7(1):102816. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jece.​2018.​
102816
Kamal A, Makhatova A, Yergali B, Baidullayeva A, Satayeva A, Kim J, Inglezakis VJ, Poulopoulos SG,
Arkhangelsky E (2022) Biological treatment, advanced oxidation and membrane separation for landfill
leachate treatment: a review. Sustainability 14(21):14427.https://​doi.​org/​10.​3390/​su142​114427
Kanthasamy S, Hadibarata T, Al-ghamdi A (2020) Adsorption of azo and anthraquinone dye by using
watermelon peel powder and corn peel powder: equilibrium and kinetic studies. Biointerface Res Appl
Chem 10(1):4706–4713. https://​doi.​org/​10.​33263/​BRIAC​101.​706713
Kargar H, Aghaei-Meybodi F, Behjatmanesh-Ardakani R, Elahifard MR, Torabi V, Fallah-Mehrjardi M,
Tahir MN, Ashfaq M, Munawar KS (2021) Synthesis, crystal structure, theoretical calculation, spec-
troscopic and antibacterial activity studies of copper(II) complexes bearing bidentate Schiff base
ligands derived from 4-amino antipyrine: Influence of substitutions on antibacterial activity. J Mol
Struct 1230:129908. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​molst​ruc.​2021.​129908
Khanday WA, Khanday SA, Shah MA, Danish M, Okoye PU (2021) Microporous Erionite-activated Carbon
Composite From Oil Palm Ash for Doxycycline Antibiotic Removal. Environ Process. https://​doi.​org/​
10.​1007/​s40710-​021-​00535-x
Krasucka P, Pan B, Sik OY, Mohan D, Sarkar B, Oleszczuk P (2021) Engineered biochar – A sustainable
solution for the removal of antibiotics from water. Chem Eng J 405:126926. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​
cej.​2020.​126926
Kosmulski M, Mączka E, Ruchomski L (2019) Two types of electrokinetic behavior of solid particles in the
presence of anionic surfactants. J Colloid Interface Sci 533:34–41. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jcis.​2018.​
08.​050
Kucharska K, Rybarczyk P, Hołowacz I, Lukajtis R, Glink M, Kamiński M (2018) Pretreatment of Ligno-
cellulosic Materials as Substrates for Fermentation Processes. Molecules 23(11):23112937. https://​doi.​
org/​10.​3390/​molec​ules2​31129​37
Li D, Yu P, Zhou X, Kim JH, Zhang Y, Alvarez PJJ (2020) Hierarchical ­Bi2O2CO3 wrapped with modified
graphene oxide for adsorption-enhanced photocatalytic inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and
resistance genes. Water Res 184:116157. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​watres.​2020.​116157
Li Y, Wang B, Zhu L, Yuan Y, Chen L, Ma J (2022) Selective targeted adsorption and inactivation of antibi-
otic-resistant bacteria by Cr-loaded mixed metal oxides. Front Environ Sci Eng 16:68. https://​doi.​org/​
10.​1007/​s11783-​021-​1502-7
Li Z, Jiang H, Wang X, Wang C, Wei X (2023) Effect of pH on Adsorption of Tetracycline Antibiotics on
Graphene Oxide. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20(3):2448. https://​doi.​org/​10.​3390/​ijerp​h2003​2448
Liang C, Wei D, Zhang S, Ren Q, Shi J, Liu L (2021) Removal of antibiotic resistance genes from swine
wastewater by membrane filtration treatment. Ecotoxicol Environ Safe 210:111885. https://​doi.​org/​10.​
1016/j.​ecoenv.​2020.​111885
Liu J, Liu Y, Peng J, Liu Z, Jiang Y, Meng M, Zhang W, Ni L (2018) Preparation of high surface area
oxidized activated carbon from peanut shell and application for the removal of organic pollutants and
heavy metal ions. Water Air Soil Pollut 229:391. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s11270-​018-​4021-9
Mahdi Al-Nabhan EA (2022) Removal efficiency, accumulation and biochemical response of Lemna
minor L. exposed to some heavy metals. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
1060(1):012037. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1088/​1755-​1315/​1060/1/​012037
Mohebali S, Bastani D, Shayesteh H (2019) Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies of a low-cost
biosorbent for the removal of Congo red dye: Acid and CTAB-acid modified celery (Apium graveo-
lens). J Mol Struct 1176:181–193. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​molst​ruc.​2018.​08.​068
Nakata K, Tsuchido T, Matsumura Y (2011) Antimicrobial cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium
bromide, induces superoxide stress in Escherichia coli cells. J Appl Microbiol 110(2):568–579. https://​
doi.​org/​10.​1111/j.​1365-​2672.​2010.​04912.x
Pauzan AS, Ahad N (2018) Biomass Modification Using Cationic Surfactant Cetyltrimethylammonium
Bromide (CTAB) to Remove Palm-Based Cooking Oil. J Chem 2018:5059791. https://​doi.​org/​10.​
1155/​2018/​50597​91

13
CTAB‑activated Carbon from Peanut Husks for the Removal of… Page 19 of 20 20

Prajapati AK, Mondal MK (2021) Development of CTAB modified ternary phase α-Fe2O3-Mn2O3-
Mn3O4 nanocomposite as innovative super-Adsorbent for Congo red dye adsorption. J Environ
Chem Eng 9(1):104827. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jece.​2020.​104827
Qin P, Huang D, Tang R, Gan F, Guan Y, Lv X (2019) Enhanced adsorption of sulfonamide antibiotics
in water by modified biochar derived from bagasse. Open Chem 17(1):1309–1316. https://​doi.​org/​
10.​1515/​chem-​2019-​0141
Qiu T, Yang JG, Bai XJ, Wang YL (2019) The preparation of synthetic graphite materials with hierarchi-
cal pores from lignite by one-step impregnation and their characterization as dye absorbents. RSC
Adv 9(22):12737–12746. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1039/​c9ra0​0343f
Rathinavelu S, Shanmugam MK, Gummadi SN, Nambi IM (2023) Inactivation of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria and elimination of transforming ability of plasmid carrying single and dual drug resistance
genes by electro-oxidation using Ti/Sb-SnO2/PbO2 anode. Chem Eng J 461:141807. https://​doi.​org/​
10.​1016/j.​cej.​2023.​141807
Rosanti AD, Kusumawati Y, Hidayat F, Fadlan A, Wardani ARK, Anggraeni HA (2022) Adsorption of
Methylene Blue and Methyl Orange from Aqueous Solution using Orange Peel and CTAB-Mod-
ified Orange Peel. J Turk Chem Soc Sect A Chem 9(1):237–246. https://​doi.​org/​10.​18596/​jotcsa.​
10031​32
Sabri NA, Holst SV, Schmitt H, Zaan BMV, Gerritsen HW, Rijnaarts HHM, Langenhoff AAM (2020)
Fate of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes during conventional and additional treatment
technologies in wastewater treatment plants. Sci Total Environ 741:140199. https://​doi.​org/​10.​
1016/j.​scito​tenv.​2020.​140199
Salam KA (2019) Assessment of Surfactant Modified Activated Carbon for Improving Water Quality. J
Encapsul Adsorption Sci 9(1):13–34. https://​doi.​org/​10.​4236/​jeas.​2019.​91002
Saman N, Ahmad Kamal NA, Lye JWP, Mat H (2020) Synthesis and characterization of CTAB-silica
nanocapsules and its adsorption behavior towards Pd(II) ions in aqueous solution. Adv Powder
Technol 31(8):3205–3214. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​apt.​2020.​06.​007
Samantaray PK, Madras G, Bose S (2019) The Key Role of Modifications in Biointerfaces toward Ren-
dering Antibacterial and Antifouling Properties in Polymeric Membranes for Water Remediation: A
Critical Assessment. Adv Sustain Syst 3(10):1–25. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1002/​adsu.​20190​0017
Samantaray PS, Baloda S, Madras G, Bose S (2018) Designer Membrane Tool-box with Mixed Metal-
Organic Framework and RAFT-synthesized Antibacterial Polymer Perform in Tandem towards
Desalination, Antifouling and Heavy Metal Exclusion. RSC Adv 6(34):16664–16679. https://​doi.​
org/​10.​1039/​C8TA0​5052J
Shan R, Shi Y, Gu J, Bi J, Yuan H, Luo B (2020) Aqueous Cr(VI) removal by biochar derived from
waste mangosteen shells: Role of pyrolysis and modification on its absorption process. J Environ
Chem Eng 8(4):103885. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jece.​2020.​103885
Sharma VK, Yu X, Mcdonald TJ, Jinadatha C, Dionysiou DD (2019) Elimination of antibiotic resist-
ance genes and control of horizontal transfer risk by UV-based treatment of drinking water: A mini
review. Front Environ Sci Eng 13(3):37
Shirzad-Siboni M, Khataee A, Hassani A, Karaca S (2015) Preparation, characterization and application
of a CTAB-modified nanoclay for the adsorption of an herbicide from aqueous solutions: Kinetic
and equilibrium studies. C R Chim 18(2):204–214. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​crci.​2014.​06.​004
Song J, Zou W, Bian Y, Su F, Han R (2011) Adsorption characteristics of methylene blue by peanut husk
in batch and column modes. Desalination 265(1–3):119–125. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​desal.​2010.​
07.​041
Su H, Liu Y, Pan C, Chen J, He L, Ying G (2018) Persistence of antibiotic resistance genes and bacterial
community changes in drinking water treatment system: From drinking water source to tap water.
Sci Total Environ 616–617:453–461. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​scito​tenv.​2017.​10.​318
Titchou FE, Zazou H, Afanga H, El Gaayda J, AitAkbour R, Nidheesh PV, Hamdani M (2021) Removal of
organic pollutants from wastewater by advanced oxidation processes and its combination with mem-
brane processes. Chem Eng Process Intensif 169:108631. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​cep.​2021.​108631
Ugwuja CG, Adelowo OO, Ogunlaja A, Omorogie MO, Olukanni OD, Ikhimiukor OO, Iermak I, Kolawole
GA, Guenter C, Taubert A, Bodede O, Moodley R, Inada NM, Camargo ASS, Unuabonah EI (2019)
Visible-Light-Mediated Photodynamic Water Disinfection @ Bimetallic-Doped Hybrid Clay Nano-
composites. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 11:25483–25494. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1021/​acsami.​9b012​12
Ugwuja CG, Olorunnisola D, Ogunlaja A, Adelowo OO, Taubert A, Kolawole GA, Olukanni OD,
Uwanibe JN, Kayode AT, Hesemann P, Fatta-kassinos D, Msagati TAM, Folarin OA, Clarke SM,
Unuabonah EI (2021) Single-route delaminated clay composites for efficient visible-light photo-
mineralization of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and associated genes in water. Appl Catal B Environ
292:120143. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​apcatb.​2021.​120143

13
 20 Page 20 of 20 A. O. Egbedina et al.

Ulhaq I, Ahmad W, Ahmad I, Yaseen M, Ilyas M (2021) ­TiO2 supported CTAB modified bentonite for treat-
ment of refinery wastewater through simultaneous photocatalytic oxidation and adsorption. J Water
Process Eng 43:102239. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jwpe.​2021.​102239
Varank G, Demir A, Yetilmezsoy K, Top S, Sekman E, Bilgili MS (2012) Removal of 4-nitrophenol from
aqueous solution by natural low-cost adsorbents. Indian J Chem Technol 19:7–25
Wang C, Sun Y, Ruan H, Yang J (2021) Toxic effects of 2,4,4′- trichlorobiphenyl (PCB-28) on growth, pho-
tosynthesis characteristics and antioxidant defense system of Lemna minor L. Plant Physiol Biochem
166:505–511. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​plaphy.​2021.​06.​031
Wei H, Wang H, Li A, Li H, Cui D, Lin J, Fan J, Zhang J, Hou H, Shi Y, Zhou D, Guo Z (2020) Advanced
Porous Hierarchal Activated Carbon from Agricultural Wastes toward High-Performance Supercapaci-
tors. J Alloys Compd 820:153111. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​jallc​om.​2019.​153111
Wu H, Chen R, Du H (2019) Synthesis of activated carbon from peanut shell as dye adsorbents for wastewa-
ter treatment. Adsorp Sci Technol 37(1–2):34–48. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1177/​02636​17418​807856
Wu S, Yu X, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Yu R (2022) Preparation, characterization, and adsorption properties of modi-
fied carbon nanotubes for highly effective removal of tetracycline from aquaculture wastewater. Envi-
ron Prog Sustain Energ 41(6):e13896. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1002/​ep.​13896
Xiang W, Wan Y, Zhang X, Tan Z, Xia T, Zheng Y, Gao B (2020) Adsorption of tetracycline hydrochloride
onto ball-milled biochar: Governing factors and mechanisms. Chemosphere 255:127057. https://​doi.​
org/​10.​1016/j.​chemo​sphere.​2020.​127057
Yao S, Zhu X, Wang Y, Zhang D, Wang S, Jia Y (2020) Simultaneous oxidation and removal of Sb(III)
from water using synthesized CTAB/MnFe2O4/MnO2 composite. Chemosphere 245:125601. https://​
doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​chemo​sphere.​2019.​125601
Zandipak R, Sobhanardakani S (2018) Novel mesoporous F ­ e3O4/SiO2/CTAB–SiO2 as an effective adsorbent
for the removal of amoxicillin and tetracycline from water. Clean Technol Environ Policy 20(4):871–
885. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s10098-​018-​1507-5
Zhan H, Wang Y, Mi X, Zhou Z, Wang P, Zhou Q (2020) Effect of graphitic carbon nitride powders on
adsorption removal of antibiotic resistance genes from water. Chin Chem Lett 31(10):2843–2848.
https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​cclet.​2020.​08.​015
Zhang J, Khan MA, Xia M, Abdo AM, Lei W, Liao C, Wang F (2019) Facile hydrothermal synthesis of
magnetic adsorbent C ­ oFe2O4/MMT to eliminate antibiotics in aqueous phase: tetracycline and cipro-
floxacin. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:215–226. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1007/​s11356-​018-​3452-6
Zhang Y, Wang X, Wang J, Yin S, Deng Z, Ding Y, Liu T, Bai X, Tai J (2020) The adsorption-degradation
effect of peanut shells loaded with sulphonamide-degrading bacteria. Desalin Water Treat 196:256–
270. https://​doi.​org/​10.​5004/​dwt.​2020.​26051

Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under
a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted
manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable
law.

Authors and Affiliations

Abisola O. Egbedina1 · Chidinma G. Ugwuja2 · Peter A. Dare3 ·

Hassan D. Sulaiman1 · Bamidele I. Olu‑Owolabi1 · Kayode O. Adebowale1

* Abisola O. Egbedina
[email protected]
* Chidinma G. Ugwuja
[email protected]
1
Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
2
African Centre of Excellence for Water and Environmental Research (ACEWATER), Redeemer’s
University, Ede, Nigeria
3
Department of Microbiology, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Nigeria

13
View publication stats