Activated carbons derived from hydrothermal impregnation of sucrose with phosphoric acid: remarkable adsorbents for sulfamethoxazole removal.

A series of activated carbons with surface areas of 925-1929 m g were synthesized by hydrothermal impregnation of sucrose with HPO and subsequent calcination at 500-900 °C. The prepared various types of activated carbons were utilized for the removal of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from its solution by adsorption, and the effects of contact time, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, adsorption temperature and pH on SMX adsorption were studied. The pseudo-second-order and the intra-particle diffusion model were used to analyze the adsorption kinetic data.