Abstract
The presence of dyes in waterbodies poses severe problems in human and aquatic creatures, and the development of treatment methods for the removal of these pollutants is of utmost importance. This research study investigates the elimination of methylene blue (MB) from an aqueous solution using zero-valent iron nanoparticles synthesized from sweet lime pulp waste (nZVISLP). The purity, chemical composition, and crystalline size of nZVISLP were investigated using microscopic and spectroscopic studies. A maximum MB removal efficiency of 98.9% was obtained at the following optimal conditions: C0: 10 mg/L, dosage: 1.2 g/L, and temperature: 25 °C. To understand the adsorptive removal characteristics of nZVISLP, the investigational adsorption data were tested with conventional kinetic and isotherm models. Furthermore, a differential evolution optimization (DEO) technique was used to estimate the optimal intrinsic parameters in the isotherm and kinetic models. For the various evaluated isotherms, the correlation coefficient (R2) values for the Freundlich and Sips isotherm models were ~0.98, thus confirming the aptness of these isotherms to represent MB adsorption onto nZVISLP. The robustness of non-linear models was verified by statistical metrics, thus validating the performance of the optimization technique. The results derived from this study affirm the potential of an ecofriendly biogenic nanomaterial, nZVISLP, for MB adsorptive removal.
Highlights
Dyes and pigments are found to be major water pollutants that contaminate surface and groundwater severely, and several of these synthetic dyes show mutagenic and toxic effects on human health
These results indicate that the active sites including –OH and –C=O groups existing groups existing on the surface of the material may lead to the potential removal of a cationic on the surface of the material may lead to the potential removal of a cationic dye, such as dye, methylene blue (MB) [29], such as MB [29], along with iron particles
The nano-bioadsorbent prepared from sweet lime pulp waste showed exciting results in MB removal from an aqueous solution
Summary
Dyes and pigments are found to be major water pollutants that contaminate surface and groundwater severely, and several of these synthetic dyes show mutagenic and toxic effects on human health. Dyes have a complex molecular structure that makes it difficult for them to degrade naturally; they tend to remain in water bodies for long periods [1,2,3]. Different types of artificial dyes are present in the effluent released from several process industries, the textile, leather, and paper industries. These industries produce many kinds of dyes worldwide, with approximately 700,000 tons produced per annum [6,7].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
