Green fabrication of a novel cetylpyridinium-bagasse adsorbent for sequestration of micropollutant 2,4-D herbicide in aqueous system and its antibacterial properties against S. aureus and E. coli

Abstract

This study presented a recent progress in the application of a novel cetylpyridinium chloride modified sugarcane bagasse (SB-CPC) as adsorbent with multiple functionalities for the remediation of micropollutant 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D, herbicide) and bacteria from aqueous matrices. Antibacterial potential of SB-CPC was assessed on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (as nominated bacteria) using spread plate technique. In addition, a batch mode was employed to conduct adsorption and regeneration experiments. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) methods, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to study the morphology, surface chemistry and functional groups of SB-CPC. SB-CPC possessed higher antibacterial activity to such an extent that it decreased (inhibited) the number of colonies of S. aureus and E. coli in the suspensions by 84.8 ± 1.2 and 89.5 ± 1.9%, respectively. A novel SB-CPC had a maximum uptake of 66.5 ± 3.5 mg g–1 at lower temperature (293 K). Electrostatic interaction, π-π electron donor/acceptor (EDA) interaction and pore filling effect could be the primary mechanisms governed the removal of 2,4-D. Equilibrium isotherms were better fit to Langmuir and Koble-Corrigan models, while adsorption kinetics to pseudo-second order reaction. Thermodynamic analysis has confirmed the spontaneous, exothermic and physisorption characters of adsorption process. Moreover, a novel SB-CPC had showed a better regeneration efficiency on 2,4-D using 0.1 mol L–1 HCl solution; consequently substantiates its practical application for remediation of water and wastewater contaminated with 2,4-D and its derivatives.