Textile wastewater depuration using a green cellulose based Fe3O4 bionanocomposite

Abstract

Supported iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) on natural fiber surfaces have enormous potential in wastewater depuration strategies. We describe here the fabrication and advanced oxidation capabilities of a bionanocomposite based on cellulosic fique fibers (FF) decorated with magnetite (Fe3O4) NPs. The composite material’s assembly was monitored using FESEM, XPS, ATR-IR, XRD, and TGA. Cellulose in FF undergoes an alkaline treatment, resulting in a heterogeneous and positively charged microstructure with channels and cavities acting as nanoreactors, facilitating size control, dispersion, and stabilization of the Fe3O4 NPs via an ultrasonic-assisted co-precipitation method. The bionanocomposite material (FF/Fe3O4) promotes color removal from indigo carmine (IC) solutions via heterogeneous Fenton-like reactions. UV–vis and MS data show the removal of up to 90% of the color in IC-spiked model aqueous samples through oxidation reactions within 5 min for up to 10 cycles. The bionanocomposite catalytic performance is significantly affected by pH and oxidant (H2O2) concentration. In addition, after treating a real effluent from a denim factory with the FF/Fe3O4 bionanocomposite for 120 min, we observed reductions of 24% in chemical oxygen demand (COD), 100% in surfactant content, 99% in true and apparent color, and 99% in turbidity.