Abstract
The removal of different non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); Ibuprofen (IBU), Ketoprofen (KETO), Naproxen (NAP) and Diclofenac sodium salt (DIC); from an aqueous model and real solution using high surface area graphene (HSANGs) were investigated. The characterization showed the presence of graphene as over layered nanoplatelets with an average thickness of 5.0 nm and high specific surface area of 677.5 m(2) g(-1). The effects of different factors, which affect the removal process were studied and optimized for efficient removal, and most of the KETO, NAP, DIC, and IBU could be removed within few minutes using 10.0 mg HSANGs at ambient temperature, and the adsorption capacities for KETO, NAP, DIC, and IBU were 16.6 mg/g, 17.8 mg/g, 19.3 mg/g, and 11.9 mg/g at 296 K; respectively. The removal of KETO, NAP, DIC, and IBU by HSANGs was studied kinetically and thermodynamically. The results showed that the removal was mainly a pseudo-second-order process, spontaneous, and entropy driving, due to the negative Gibbs free energy, positive entropy and the positive enthalpy values. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.