Understanding How Surface Chemistry Makes Carbon Nanotubes Better at Removing Antibiotics from Wastewater
The Research Group of Dr. Akshay Modi (Department of Chemical Engineering), investigated how surface properties of commercially available carbon nanotubes influence the removal of tetracycline, a commonly detected antibiotic in wastewater. Tetracycline is widely used in human and veterinary medicine and is frequently found in wastewater from households, hospitals, and pharmaceutical industries. Since conventional wastewater treatment plants cannot completely remove such antibiotics, efficient materials are needed to eliminate these emerging pollutants. Four commercially available multi-walled carbon nanotubes with different surface properties were compared. The study showed that changing the surface chemistry plays a crucial role in determining how effectively these materials remove tetracycline from water. Among them, amine-functionalized MWCNTs performed best, removing more than 90% of the antibiotic under optimized conditions. The material was further tested in real municipal wastewater, as well as simulated municipal and hospital wastewater that closely resemble real wastewater conditions. It continued to perform well despite the presence of many other dissolved substances and could be reused for up to five cycles, making it a cost-effective option. These findings demonstrate that commercially available carbon nanotubes can provide an effective and practical solution for removing antibiotic pollutants from wastewater, supporting sustainable wastewater treatment and desalination pre-treatment. For more details, kindly visit 10.1016/j.desal.2026.120514
