Abstract

In this work, the removal of the Cephalexin by Chlorella sp., nonliving modified by extraction of lipids was evaluated. First, the microalga was grown to completing 20 days and later, the biomass of crop was centrifuged and the extraction of lipids was performed. Two adsorption experiments were performed: (1) with nonliving Chlorella sp. (control), and (2) the obtained biomass after lipid extraction. The high antibiotic removal, 71.19% and 82.77% (control), were obtained at the lowest initial concentration. The contact time between the biosorbent and the antibiotic was 2 h. The adsorption isotherm follows the Freundlich model and the obtained maximum absorption capacity was 63.29 mg of antibiotic/g of biosorbent for lipid-extracted biomass, while the control follows best to the Langmuir model with 129.87 mg/g in maximum absorption capacity. In summary, this biosorbent provides a potential alternative in the removal of Cephalexin.