Use of graphene substrates for wastewater treatment of textile industries

Abstract

Dyes are among the main pollutants in the textile wastewaters, which, due to their complex molecular structure, are often poisonous, carcinogenic, and environmentally perilous. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the removal efficiency of textile dye (tested on methylene blue, MB) from aqueous medium using graphene oxide (GO)-containing hydrogels due to their high surface area and ability to adsorb a large amount of water and water-soluble species. Therefore, a series of GO-based nanocomposites based on acrylamide and sodium alginate crosslinked by methylene bis-acrylamide (MBA) have been prepared to be used and evaluated as the starter. The effect of different parameters such as initial dye concentration, temperature, and contact time on the removal of MB is investigated as well as determination of the adsorption isotherm of MB on GO/hydrogel using the Langmuir model. Various concentrations, temperatures, and contact time have also been investigated on GO/hydrogels. The chemical structure of the GO/hydrogel is determined by scanning electron microscopy, FTIR, and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the GO/hydrogel can absorb MB by up to 95.76% efficiency in removal of MB from an aqueous media.