Simultaneous removal of cationic and anionic dyes from simulated industrial effluents using a nature-inspired adsorbent

Molecular simulation-based insights into dye pollutant adsorption: A perspective review

Growing concerns about environmental pollution have highlighted the need for efficient and sustainable methods to remove dye contamination from various ecosystems. In this context, computational methods such as molecular dynamics (MD), Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, quantum mechanics (QM) calculations, and machine learning (ML) methods are powerful tools used to study and predict the adsorption processes of dyes on various adsorbents. These methods provide detailed insights into the molecular interactions and mechanisms involved, which can be crucial for designing efficient adsorption systems. MD simulations, detailing molecular arrangements, predict dyes' adsorption behaviour and interaction energies with adsorbents. They simulate the entire adsorption process, including surface diffusion, solvent layer penetration, and physisorption. QM calculations, especially density functional theory (DFT), determine molecular structures and reactivity descriptors, aiding in understanding adsorption mechanisms. They identify stable adsorption configurations and interactions like hydrogen bonding and electrostatic forces. MC simulations predict equilibrium properties and adsorption energies by sampling molecular configurations. ML methods have proven highly effective in predicting and optimizing dye adsorption processes. These models offer significant advantages over traditional methods, including higher accuracy and the ability to handle complex datasets. These methods optimize adsorption conditions, clarify adsorbent functionalization roles, and predict dye removal efficiency under various conditions. This research explores MD, MC, QM, and ML approaches to connect molecular interactions with macroscopic adsorption phenomena. Probing these techniques provides insights into the dynamics and energetics of dye pollutants on adsorption surfaces. The findings will aid in developing and optimizing new materials for dye removal. This review has significant implications for environmental remediation, offering a comprehensive understanding of adsorption at various scales. Merging microscopic data with macroscopic observations enhances knowledge of dye pollutant adsorption, laying the groundwork for efficient, sustainable removal technologies. Addressing the growing challenges of ecosystem protection, this study contributes to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Sodium alginate based adsorbent: Facile fabrication, extraordinary removal efficacy of anionic dyes and adsorption mechanism

Eco-friendly and renewable sodium alginate, as a potential alternative to fossil resources, has attracted considerable attention in wastewater treatment field. Herein, we develop a SA/PEI/PEG (sodium alginate/polyethyleneimine/polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether) adsorbent in which SA was functionalized by PEI/PEG via a facile but effective strategy of one-pot gelation of aqueous SA/PEI/PEG solution. Systematic investigations were accomplished to explore the effects of adsorbent factors on the adsorption performances of the adsorbent towards the anionic dyes CR (congo red), AB-10B (amido black-10B), and AB-25 (acid blue-25). Strikingly, the SA/PEI/PEG exhibited exceptional adsorption performance to CR (2782 mg g-1, 90.6 %), AB-10B (1369 mg g-1, 90.9 %) and AB-25 (4221 mg g-1, 92.6 %) at 30 °C, pH = 3, 200 r min-1 and oscillated 24 h, and demonstrating exceptional reusability after six cycles of adsorption-desorption cycles. Furthermore, the three kinetic, four isothermic and one thermodynamic models were used to investigate the adsorption behaviors of the adsorbent towards these dyes. The possible adsorption mechanism is suggested: Hydrogen bond interactions and electrostatic attractions between SA/PEI/PEG and the dyes primarily contribute to exceptional adsorption capacity. The SA/PEI/PEG adsorbent endowed with easy fabrication, extraordinary adsorption capacity and excellent reusability promises potential application prospects in wastewater purification industry.

Dialdehyde modified and cationic aerogel for efficient microplastics adsorption from environmental waters

Recent reports had shown that microplastics could be transferred to organisms through various channels, severely and adversely affecting organisms' health and their physiological functions. Therefore, there remained an urgency to adopt an effective and environmentally friendly method to extract microplastics from water. In this paper, a cationic-modified d-DCPG aerogel with a three-dimensional network structure was successfully prepared by a directional freeze-drying technology in which double-aldehyde-modified cellulose nanofiber (CNF) was used as the matrix, betaine chloride hydrazide (GT) provided modification, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) provided cross-linking function. Aerogels had an excellent adsorption capacity (145.05 mg/g) for microplastics in aqueous environment, and when the pH was from 10 to 4, it exhibited an excellent adsorption efficiency from 90.01 % to 97.61 %; an excellent adsorption efficiency after 8 cycles (>89 %); pseudo-second-order kinetics and Freundlich adsorption isotherm had a high fitting effects on the adsorption process and adsorption results, respectively. And ultraviolet analysis also verified the occurrence of adsorption behavior. These results showed that d-DCPG aerogels had an excellent application prospects in microplastics removal in river, lake, reservoir, and marine environments.

Effective Removal of Dyes from Wastewater by Osmanthus Fragrans Biomass Charcoal

The exploration of low-cost, high-performance adsorbents is a popular research issue. In this work, a straightforward method that combined hydrothermal with tube firing was used to produce Osmanthus fragrans biomass charcoal (OBC) from low-cost osmanthus for dye adsorption in water. The study examined the parameters of starting concentration, pH, and duration, which impacted the process of adsorption of different dyes by OBC. The analysis showed that the adsorption capacities of OBC for six dyes: malachite green (MG, C0 = 800 mg/L, pH = 7), Congo red (CR, C0 = 1000 mg/L, pH = 8), rhodamine B (RhB, C0 = 500 mg/L, pH = 6), methyl orange (MO, C0 = 1000 mg/L, pH = 7), methylene blue (MB, C0 = 700 mg/L, pH = 8), and crystalline violet (CV, C0 = 500 mg/L, pH = 7) were 6501.09, 2870.30, 554.93, 6277.72, 626.50, and 3539.34 mg/g, respectively. The pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir isotherm model were compatible with the experimental findings, which suggested the dominance of ion exchange and chemisorption. The materials were characterized by using XRD, SEM, FTIR, BET, and XPS, and the results showed that OBC had an outstanding specific surface area (2063 m2·g-1), with potential adsorption mechanisms that included electrostatic mechanisms, hydrogen bonding, and π-π adsorption. The fact that the adsorption capacity did not drastically decrease after five cycles of adsorption and desorption suggests that OBC has the potential to be a dye adsorbent.

Recent advances in adsorption of environmental pollutants using metal-organic frameworks-based hydrogels

Water pollution is increasing significantly owing to industrialization and population growth that lead to serious environmental and health issues. Therefore, the design and development of more effective wastewater treatment approaches are necessary due to a significant upsurge in demand for freshwater. More recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted attention in environmental science owing to their tunable porosity, unique structure, flexibility, and various composition. Despite these attractive advantages, some drawbacks, including intrinsic fragility, unsatisfied processability, dust formation, and poor reusability, have greatly limited their applications. Therefore, MOFs are often designed as supported-based MOFs (e.g., MOFs-coated composites) or 3D structured composites, such as MOFs-based hydrogels. MOFs-based hydrogels are excellent candidates in the sorption process because of their appropriate adsorption capacity, porous structure, good mechanical properties, durability as well as biodegradable features. In this review, the removal of different pollutants (e.g., synthetic dyes, phosphates, heavy metals, antibiotics, and some organic compounds) from aqueous media has been studied by the adsorption process using MOFs-based hydrogels. The important advancements in the fabrication of MOFs-based hydrogels and their capacities in the adsorption of pollutants under experimental conditions have been discussed. Finally, problems and future perspectives on the adsorption process using MOFs-based hydrogels have been investigated.

Efficient one-pot synthesis of magnetic MIL-100(Fe) using nitric acid without additional Fe ion addition and adsorption behavior of charged organic compounds

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are attracting attention as high-performance adsorbents because of their high specific surface area and porosity. In particular, magnetic MIL-100(Fe) has the both characteristics of Fe₃O₄ and MIL-100(Fe), which are magnetic characteristics, high specific surface area and open metal sites. However, multiple synthetic steps are required for synthesis of magnetic MOF, and there is limitation that the residual organic linker and unreacted Fe center ions can be discharged, and they cause water pollution. In this study, magnetic MIL-100(Fe) was synthesized within 4 h without the addition of Fe ions by using nitric acid for the surface modification of Fe₃O₄. Magnetic MIL-100(Fe) was confirmed through XRD, FTIR, and TEM surface analysis, and the optimal conditions for nitric acid addition were selected through magnetization measurements and BET analysis of synthesized magnetic MIL-100(Fe). Thereafter, adsorption evaluation was performed using MB and MO, which are representative cationic and anionic dyes, respectively. The pseudo-second-order Langmuir model showed a relatively high correlation compared to the other models. This shows that the adsorption mechanism depends on both the amount of adsorbent and adsorbate, and Fe₃O₄ modification with nitric acid does not cause any change in the adsorption mechanism. In the case of adsorption selectivity between the MB and MO, removal rates of 93.27% and 58.73% were obtained, respectively. The above results can contribute to the simplification of the manufacturing of magnetic metal organic frameworks for removing ionic organic compounds and the minimization of water pollution in the manufacturing process.

Evaluation of the Environmental Performance of Adsorbent Materials Prepared from Agave Bagasse for Water Remediation: Solid Waste Management Proposal of the Tequila Industry

In the present research work, the use of agro-industrial waste such as agave bagasse from the tequila industry was carried out. The agave bagasse was treated to obtain biosorbent and hydrochar materials. Direct Blue 86 was used as an adsorbate model to evaluate the performance of both materials. The adsorption studies showed an adsorption capacity of 6.49 mg g−1 in static and 17.7 mg g−1 in dynamic, associated with a physisorption process between functional groups of the material and the dye. The characterization of the biosorbent showed that the material was mainly composed of macroporous fibers with a surface area <5.0 m2 g−1. Elemental analysis showed a majority composition of C (57.19 wt%) and O (37.49 wt%). FTIR and XPS analyses showed that the material had C-O, C=O, -OH, O-C=O, and -NH2 surface groups. RAMAN and TGA were used to evaluate the composition, being cellulose (40.94%), lignin (20.15%), and hemicellulose (3.35%). Finally, the life-cycle assessment at a laboratory scale showed that the proposed biosorbent presents a 17% reduction in several environmental aspects compared to hydrochar, showing promise as an eco-friendly and highly efficient method for the remediation of water contaminated with dye, as well as being a promising alternative for the responsible management of solid waste generated by the tequila industry.

Performance of Dye Removal from Single and Binary Component Systems by Adsorption on Composite Hydrogel Beads Derived from Fruits Wastes Entrapped in Natural Polymeric Matrix

The treatment of contaminated water is currently a major concern worldwide. This work was directed towards the preparation of a composite hydrogel by entrapping cherry stones powder on chitosan, which is known as one of the most abundant natural polymers. The synthesized material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and by the point of zero charge determination. Its ability to remove two azo dyes models (Acid Red 66 and Reactive Black 5) existing in single form and in binary mixture was evaluated. Response Surface Methodology-Central Composite Design was used to optimize three parameters affecting the process while targeting the lowest final contaminant concentrations. The best results were obtained at pH 2, an adsorbent dose of 100 g/L, and a temperature of 30 °C, when more than 90% of the pollutants from the single component systems and more than 70% of those of the binary mixtures were removed from their aqueous solutions. The adsorption process was in accordance with Elovich and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, and closely followed the Freundlich and Temkin equilibrium isotherms. The obtained results led to the conclusion that the prepared hydrogel composite possesses the ability to successfully retain the target molecules and that it can be considered as a viable adsorbent material.