Removal of Cephalexin from aqueous solutions using MgO/GAC hybrid photocatalytic process

In the present study the MgO/GAC composite as a catalyst synthesized using sol-gel method and investigated its catalytic potential in the presence of UV irradiation for removal of cephalexin (CLX) in a batch mode reactor. The characterization of the MgO/GAC composite was determined by XRD and SEM. The effect of operational parameters including the pH of solution (3–11), the dosage of composite (1-6 g/L), initial CLX concentration (20–100 mg/L) and contact time (10–60 min) were evaluated. The maximum CLX degradation with an initial concentration of 20 mg/L was as high as 98% at pH=3, 4 g/L of MgO/GAC composite with UV irradiation within 60 min contact time. The removal process of CLX could be described by pseudo-first order kinetic. The COD and TOC removal rate were %78 and, %62.3 in optimum condition respectively. The results indicate that the UV/MgO/GAC hybrid photocatalytic process can be considered as an efficient alternative to treat the wastewater containing CLX.