Removal of ivermectin from aqueous medium on chitosan-based magnetic adsorbent

[Display omitted] •Magnetic chitosan was synthesized for the adsorption of ivermectin.•Maximum adsorption capacity was 81.86 mg g−1 at 298 K.•Adsorbent exhibited high regeneration ability using ethanol as the desorbing agent.•Hydrogen bonds probably governed the adsorption phenomenon. This work focused on the uptake of ivermectin from aqueous media using chitosan derivative as an adsorbent material. The adsorbent was synthesized through the co-precipitation approach, controlling the iron oxide quantity on the polymer surface. FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDS, XPS, textural properties, and surface charge characterized magnetic chitosan (CS⋅Fe3O4). The adsorption efficiency was affected by different experimental conditions, especially by adsorbent dosage and ionic strength. The shifts in the FTIR spectrum of CS⋅Fe3O4 after adsorption suggest the occurrence of hydrogen bonds between the adsorbent surface and adsorbate molecules. The kinetic modeling showed that the Elovich model was well suitable to describe the kinetic data. Meantime, the Sips and Liu models described well the adsorption isotherms. The maximum adsorption capacity (81.86 mg g−1) was reached at pH 7.0 and 298 K, using an adsorbent dosage of 0.6 g L−1. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the process was spontaneous and exothermic. The regeneration and reuse assays displayed that the recovery of adsorbent was more effective using ethyl alcohol than sodium hydroxide.