Fast removal of tetracycline from wastewater by reduced graphene oxide prepared via microwave-assisted ethylenediamine-N,N′-disuccinic acid induction method

A green reagent of ethylenediamine-N,N'-disuccinic acid (EDDS) was reported herein for reduction of graphene oxide (GO) with microwave assistance. The characteristics of EDDS reduced graphene oxide (ERG), and the tetracycline (TC) adsorption behavior of ERG was investigated. The results showed that the deoxygenation efficiency of GO strongly depended on the EDDS amount and the ERG can be successively obtained by recycled EDDS. The ERG obtained at EDDS/GO ratio of 5 (ERG5) exhibited a maximum capacity of 558.66 mg/g for TC adsorption, which is superior to GO and ERGs obtained at other EDDS/GO ratio. The adsorption reached equilibrium within 10 min, and the driving forces are likely the van der Waals forces, pi-pi electron-donor-acceptor (EDA) interaction and cation-pi bonding between TC and the ERG surface. The adsorbent dose, pH, temperature, initial TC concentration, and ionic strength significantly affect the TC adsorption. The pseudo-second-order kinetics describes TC adsorption process very well, with correlation coefficients (R-2 ) greater than 0.99. The adsorption isotherm was best fitted by Freundlich equation, followed by Langmuir, Temkin, and Hill model equations. Analysis on adsorption thermodynamics shows that the adsorption is a spontaneous endothermic process. The ERG could be a cost-effective and promising sorbent for TC wastewater treatment due to its high-efficiency performance in real river water, medical wastewater, and municipal wastewater.