Adsorption of Escherichia coli Using Bone Char

The aim of study was providing a novel adsorbent for the removal of Escherichia coli (E.coli) as a microbial model from contaminated air especially in hospital units using bone char (BC). The BC was prepared from cattle animal bone by pyrolysis in a furnace at 450°C for 2 h. The characteristics of BC have been determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), pHzpc, apparent density and iodine number. Nebulizer system applied to convert the E.coli with different concentration into bioaerosols. The variables included: BC weights (4-10 g), the adsorbent pore size (20-40 mesh) and microbial concentrations (103-107 CFU/mL). Characteristics of the adsorbent show the ability of the BC to remove E.coli from air. The results shows the higher amounts of BC, the more efficiency achieved to purify contaminate air and particles in the range of 20-40 mesh were more practical in removing bioaerosols. An efficient time for removing the more E. coli was 30 minutes. The maximum bacterial efficiency removal achieved was 99.99%. Comparison of removal efficiency with other literature showed that the BC particles were better mineral sorbents than other organic adsorbents and a commercial activated carbon. In this study, we investigated a novel air purification adsorbent and the information obtained in the paper is of fundamental significance for the mineral adsorbents especially bone char in cleaning of indoor bioaerosol.