Removal of penicillin in aqueous solution using Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis from hospital wastewater

Nowadays, antibiotics are considered as stable organic chemical compounds and their presence in hospital wastewater, pharmaceutical wastewaters and surface waters has led to some concerns. This study aimed to investigate the removal of penicillin as a pharmaceutical pollutant using Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris microalgae from aqueous solution. This study was carried out on synthetic samples at laboratory scale and wastewater samples of two hospitals in Birjand city, Iran. In this research, the effect of parameters such as retention time, the effect of pH variables and initial concentration on the removal efficiency of penicillin antibiotic by two microalgae were investigated. The results of this study showed that by increasing the number and biomass of microalgae, the removal efficiency of penicillin antibiotic increases. The optimal pH for removal of penicillin was obtained for both algae as 7 or neutral. Furthermore, the contact time at 8 and 9 d were selected as optimal time for C. vulgaris and S. platensis, respectively. The use of microalgae in the main hospitals of Birjand city wastewater has been efficient in the removal of penicillin antibiotics. Therefore, this method can be effective for the removal of antibiotics with similar structure.