Adsorption of ciprofloxacin antibiotic on materials prepared from Moroccan oil shales

Abstract Ciprofloxacin antibiotic (CIP) adsorption was investigated using an adsorbent material (XHA) obtaining by chemical activation using phosphoric acid (H3PO4) of Moroccan oil shales of the Timahdit region (layer X). The results obtained show that the adsorption process is highly dependent on the physicochemical parameters. The mechanism of CIP adsorption was better described by the kinetic model of the pseudo second order and obeyed both linear and non-linear models of the Langmuir isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity is equal to 81.11 mg/g. Furthermore, the evaluation of thermodynamic parameters, such as free energy, enthalpy and entropy suggested that the CIP adsorption on XHA is a spontaneous physisorption process with an exothermic effect.