Abstract
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, huge amounts of disposable face masks have been manufactured and used, and these discarded face masks have to be treated. In this study, we propose a simple approach for reusing the nonwoven polyester fabric (NWPF) from disposable face masks. In this approach, NWPF is utilized as a supporter for coating of a layer of graphene oxide/Fe3O4/chitosan (GFC) to form a GFC/NWPF adsorbent at room temperature via a simple spray coating method that does not require any solvent. The specific properties of GFC, NWPF, and the GFC/NWPF adsorbent were analysed via X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that the presence of NWPF enhanced the adsorption capacity of GFC towards organic dyes. At high concentrations of the organic dyes, the adsorption efficiency of the GFC/NWPF adsorbent to the dyes reached 100% within 24 h. The adsorption capacity ([Formula: see text]) of the GFC/NWPF adsorbent to methylene blue, methyl orange, Congo red, and moderacid red was 54.795, 87.489, 88.573, and 29.010 mg g−1, respectively, which were considerably higher than that of bulk GFC (39.308, 82.304, 52.910, and 21.249 mg g−1, respectively).
Highlights
Organic dyes are widely used in many industries, such as textile, paper, rubber, plastic, leather, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries
Among the aforementioned wastewater treatment methods, adsorption is considered one of the preeminent methods owing to its advantages, such as easy implementation, generation of nontoxic substances during the treatment process, high efficiency, and Adsorption Science & Technology low cost [5]
Non-woven polyester fabric (NWPF) was extracted from discarded disposable face masks, washed with soap, sonicated with 95% (v/v) ethanol for 5 min, and dried at 80°C
Summary
Organic dyes are widely used in many industries, such as textile, paper, rubber, plastic, leather, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries. The wastewater produced by these industries contains dyes and their products that contribute to water pollution, causing negative effects on humans and the environment, such as preventing the absorption of oxygen and sunlight and disrupting the respiration and growth of aquatic organisms. It causes adverse effects on the ability of microorganisms to decompose organic substances in wastewater [1,2,3]. Biological treatment methods include removing dyes via anaerobic and aerobic systems and fermenting activated sludge from filamentous fungi, yeasts, bacteria, and bacterial and fungal biomes. Various adsorbent materials from traditional materials can used in adsorption, such as activated carbon, clay, agricultural by-products, banana peels, straw [5], rice husk [6], and red mud [7]
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