Enhanced adsorptive removal of ibuprofen from pharmaceutical effluent using TiO2-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube

Abstract

Ibuprofen is one of the most widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and is frequently reported as a contaminant in aquatic systems because conventional wastewater treatments cannot fully eliminate it. This study presents the preparation of titanium dioxide–coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (TiO2-MWCNTs) and their application for Ibuprofen removal. Characterization techniques (FTIR, EDS, FESEM) confirmed uniform TiO2 coating and surface modification of the nanotubes. Batch adsorption tests showed that TiO2-MWCNTs achieved a maximum removal efficiency of 93.3% at 45 °C, which is higher than pristine MWCNTs. Kinetic modeling indicated that the adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order mechanism, while isotherm analysis fitted both Langmuir and Freundlich models, suggesting monolayer adsorption with some degree of surface heterogeneity. The maximum adsorption capacity was calculated as 125 mg/g. Furthermore, artificial neural network (ANN) modeling closely matched the experimental findings, confirming strong predictive capability (R² > 0.98). The results suggest that TiO2-MWCNTs are promising adsorbents for the efficient removal of Ibuprofen from pharmaceutical wastewater.