Ultrasound-assisted removal of tetracycline from aqueous solution by mesoporous alumina.

This work describes the removal of tetracycline (TC) from aqueous solution using a mesoporous alumina (meso-Al2O3) as adsorbent in the presence of ultrasonic irradiation. Adsorption of TC was investigated under various operating conditions, including pH, adsorbent dosage, ultrasound power, and initial TC concentration. The results showed that the rate of TC sorption was enhanced with the assistance of ultrasound. The TC removal increased with the increase in sorbent dosage, pH and ultrasound power, but decreased with the increase in initial TC concentration. The adsorption isotherm data were fitted properly with the Freundlich model under ultrasonic irradiation, and the adsorption process followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model.