Selective adsorption of anionic dye from wastewater using polyethyleneimine based macroporous sponge: Batch and continuous studies

Rapid eco-friendly selective dye removal using modified chitosan-based sponges: Synthesis, characterization, and application

The ongoing challenge of water scarcity persists alongside a concerning rise in water pollution driven by population expansion and industrial development. As a result, urgent measures are imperative to address the pressing need for a clean and sustainable water supply. In this study, a sustainable and green approach was utilized to prepare four chitosan-based sponges from a chemically modified chitosan with different alkyl chains in aqueous medium and at room temperature. The resulting sponges displayed excellent stability in water with outstanding dye removal efficiency. The adsorption capacity was associated with the alkyl chain length incorporated to the polymer backbone. All sponges displayed a high adsorption capacity of methyl orange (MO) ranges between 238 and 380 mg g-1, while a low capacity were obtained for methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RB). Competitive adsorption experiments were conducted on binary and ternary mixtures to assess the selective removal of MO from a mixture of dyes in which the separation factor was found to be ranging between 1.6 and 32. The adsorption kinetics isotherms of all sponges followed the pseudo-second-order, and the Langmuir model was found to be more suitable than the Freundlich for the adsorption of MO on the sponges. The chitosan-based sponges showed stable performance, robustness and reusability over 5 adsorption-desorption cycles, indicating their great potential for water treatment applications.

One-Step Synthesis of Polyethyleneimine-Grafted Styrene-Maleic Anhydride Copolymer Adsorbents for Effective Adsorption of Anionic Dyes

Wastewater containing organic dyes has become one of the important challenges in water treatment due to its high salt content and resistance to natural degradation. In this work, a novelty adsorbent, PEI-SMA, was prepared by grafting polyethyleneimine (PEI) onto styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer (SMA) through an amidation reaction. The various factors, such as pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, dye concentration, and temperature, which may affect the adsorption of PEI-SMA for Reactive Black 5 (RB5), were systematically investigated by static adsorption experiments. The adsorption process of PEI-SMA for RB5 was more consistent with the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order model, suggesting a single-layer chemisorption. PEI-SMA exhibits excellent adsorption performance for RB5 dye, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 1749.19 mg g-1 at pH = 2. Additionally, PEI-SMA exhibited highly efficient RB5 competitive adsorption against coexisting Cl- and SO42- ions and cationic dyes. The adsorption mechanism was explored, and it can be explained as the synergistic effect of electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding and π-π interaction. This study demonstrates that PEI-SMA could act as a high performance and promising candidate for the effective adsorption of anionic dyes from aqueous solutions.

Computational AI to predict and optimize the relationship between dye removal efficiency and Gibbs free energy in the adsorption process utilizing TiO2/chitosan-polyacrylamide composite

Building a model that can accurately anticipate and optimize the dynamics of dye removal and Gibbs free energy within the framework of an adsorption process is the main goal of this research. Furthermore, it has been determined that a correlation exists between the efficacy of dye removal and the behavior of Gibbs free energy throughout the process of adsorption. The study utilized a composite material consisting of chitosan-polyacrylamide/TiO2 as an adsorbent to remove anionic dye from a mainly aqueous solution. The parameters have been analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM), artificial neural networks (ANN), and machine learning (ML) techniques in this particular context. The obtained F-value of 814.62 for the RSM model, which assesses dye removal efficiency, suggests that the model under examination is statistically significant. Furthermore, based on the RSM data, the proposed model demonstrates a significant level of accuracy in predicting the performance of the TiO2/chitosan-polyacrylamide composite as an adsorbent during the dye removal adsorption process. The ANN model achieved a high level of accuracy, as evidenced by its R2 value of 0.999455. Through the utilization of neural networks and machine learning, the intended objective of forecasting dye removal efficiency and Gibbs free energy behavior in the adsorption process was effectively accomplished.

ZnO@ activated carbon derived from wood sawdust as adsorbent for removal of methyl red and methyl orange from aqueous solutions

Activated carbon (AC) and ZnO@AC composite derived from wood sawdust were prepared to be utilized as adsorbents for methyl red (MR) and methyl orange (MO) anionic dyes from the aqueous solutions. The maximum adsorption capacity of the AC and ZnO@AC composite toward both dyes was achieved in the strong acidic medium (pH = 3), and under stirring for 60 min. The kinetic studies revealed that the adsorption of MR and MO dyes onto the AC and ZnO@AC composite fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model. Furthermore, the intraparticle diffusion and Elovich kinetic models confirmed the adsorption is controlled by external surfaces, and the adsorption is chemisorption process. The isotherm results indicated that the MR and MO dye adsorption occurred via monolayer adsorption, and the estimated maximum adsorption capacities of both dyes onto the ZnO@AC composite were higher than those achieved by AC. Thermodynamic analysis suggested that the adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous. The mechanism for MR, and MO dyes adsorption onto the AC and ZnO@AC composite is proposed to be controlled by electrostatic bonding, π-π interactions, and ion exchange, while H-bonding and n-π interactions were minor contributors. This study reveals the potential use of carbon-based adsorbents derived from wood sawdust for the removal of anionic dyes from wastewater.

Fabrication of double imprinted anchor points in cellulose nanocrystals-based hierarchical porous polyHIPEs for selective separation of flavoniods under physiological pH

Previous research had proved that molecular imprinted polymers can be used as separation material for removing Naringin (NRG) from agricultural pomelo wastes effectively. But the adsorption amounts of NRG molecules from traditional MIPs was quite low by using boronic acid as functional monomer because of single affinity interaction. Therefore, we developed the new combination of bifunctional monomers (i.e. low pKa boronate affinity monomer 2,4-difluoro-3-formylphenylboronic acid and dopamine) based on cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) mixed with polymerized high internal phase emulsion (polyHIPE, PH) through an double layer surface imprinted method. The introduction of polyethylenimine (PEI) can offer abundant anchor units for the growth of more anchor sites to immobilization template molecules. Importantly, largely improved selective adsorption amounts (50.79 μmol g-1), which may be attribute to the fabrication of the uniform growth of double imprinted layers onto the polydopamine (PDA)/boronic acid-based surfaces. In addition, the resulting double recognition molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) based on hypercrosslinked PH (DR-HCLPH@MIPs) not only exhibited fast adsorption kinetic of NRG molecule, but also possessed excellent selectivity and high adsorption capacities at physiological pH. Meanwhile, the coarse NRG from pomelo waste can be high selectively extracted to 94.74%. Overall, this study provides a versatile approach for fabrication of the sandwich-biscuit-like double imprinting layer porous MIPs for precise identification and ultrafast transport separation of NRG from complex samples.

Clay-moringa seedcake composite for removal of cationic and anionic dyes

The present study investigated the potential of a composite prepared from kaolinite clay and moringa seedcake in removing methylene blue (MB) and acid orange-7 (AO-7) dyes from aqueous solutions using batch and column tests. The composite was modified using different chemicals during the synthesis process, and the composites were characterised using different techniques such as FTIR, SEM-EDS and XRD. Characterisation showed the presence of actively charged functional groups and porous structure on the composites prepared. Batch tests were performed to assess the effect of operating conditions such as adsorbent dosage, pH, initial dye concentration and contact time. NaOH-modified and H2SO4/NaOH-modified composites demonstrated the highest adsorption capacities for AO-7 and MB, respectively, and were selected for subsequent studies. The adsorption process of dye was best fitted by the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models suggesting that the sorption of MB and AO-7 onto the composites is a heterogeneous, multilayer chemical adsorption process. Long-term fixed-column tests were conducted with the composites to assess the impact of flow rate, bed depth and initial dye concentration on the dye removal efficiency. Optimum removals of 86 and 94%, respectively at pH 2 and pH 10 were obtained for AO-7 and MB in batch tests, along with adsorption capacities of 205.65 and 230.49 mg/g for AO-7 and MB. Results from the column tests were best explained by the Clark model and the Bed Depth-Service Time model. Competing ions impacted the removal of AO-7, while no significant effect was found for MB. The composites could be reused up to four cycles without significantly affecting the adsorption capacity. The present study thus shows the potential of the composite for removal of both the dyes.

Quaternary ammonium-functionalized rosin-derived resin for the high-performance capture of caramels: Experiments and quantum chemical theory simulations

Water contamination caused by discharge of spent washes containing colorants remains controversial. In this study, rosin-derived strongly basic macroporous anion-adsorption resin (RSBMAR) was designed as an advanced adsorbent for scavenging caramel, the most recalcitrant colorant in spent washes. Toxicity tests suggest that RSBMAR is environmentally friendly and hardly threatens aquatic organisms. RSBMAR exhibits outstanding caramel capture efficiency because of its rich target quaternary ammonium (-R4N+) and protonated tertiary amine (-R3NH+) groups, abundant porous structure, large specific surface area, excellent thermal stability, and good sphericity. The caramel adsorption capacity of RSBMAR was 165.86 mg/g and the decolorization efficiency reached 96.75%. After five cycles, the spent RSBMAR maintained a high decolorization rate, indicating excellent renewability. Multiple characterizations indicated that caramel capture was largely mediated by charge interaction between -R4N+/-R3NH+ (RSBMAR) and -RCOO-/-RCOOH (caramel), followed by H-bonds. Quantum chemical theory simulations, including electrostatic potential, local ionization energy, frontier molecular orbitals, and independent gradient model analyses, further visualized caramel capture mechanisms at atomic level. Hirshfeld surface analysis revealed that RSBMAR acts as both an H-bond donor and acceptor during caramel uptake. Dynamic adsorption was performed to treat real wastewater, laying the foundation for the industrial application of RSBMAR.

Compressible polydopamine modified pomelo peel powder/poly(ethyleneimine)/κ-carrageenan aerogel with pH-tunable charge for selective removal of anionic and cationic dyes

In this work, a novel biomass-based aerogel, polydopamine decorated pomelo peel powder/polyethyleneimine/κ-carrageenan (PPEKC) aerogel, was developed for dye wastewater treatment. The as-prepared PPEKC aerogel possessed a robust structure and good compressible resilience. As expected, this aerogel presented remarkable efficacy in eliminating both anionic and cationic dyes. The experimental maximum adsorption capacities were 2016.7 mg g-1 for congo red (CR) at pH = 5 and 1176.6 mg g-1 for methylene blue (MEB) at pH = 11, following with ultra-fast adsorption rates. The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption isotherms exhibited a stronger alignment with the Langmuir isotherm model for CR at 308 K and MEB at 288, 298, 308 K. The Freundlich isotherm model yielded a suitable fit for the adsorption of CR at 288 and 298 K. Thermodynamic analyses indicated that the removal of CR and MEB was spontaneous and endothermic. The adsorption mechanisms involved electrostatic interactions, π-π interactions, and hydrogen bonds. Intriguingly, it could achieve bidirectional selective adsorption of anionic and cationic dyes in the designed pH values, due to pH-tunable surface charge. Additionally, it also exhibited favorable reusability and antibacterial activity. Therefore, the as-prepared PPEKC aerogel could be a promising biosorbent for dye wastewater treatment.

Continuous-Flow System for Methylene Blue Removal Using a Green and Cost-Effective Starch Single-Rod Column

A continuous-flow system based on a green and cost-effective monolithic starch cryogel column was successfully developed for removing methylene blue (MB). The proposed column exhibited high removal efficiency (up to 99.9%) and adsorption capacity (25.4 mg·g-1) for synthetic and real samples with an adsorbent cost of USD 0.02. The influence of various operation parameters, including the flow rate, initial concentration, column height, and temperature, on the MB removal efficiency was examined and reported. The MB removal efficiency remained >99% in the presence of potential interferences, highlighting the good performance of the cryogel column. The Yoon-Nelson dynamic model explained the MB adsorption better than the Bohart-Adams model, as indicated by the higher R2 values (R2 = 0.9890-0.9999) exhibited by the former and current trends of its parameters. The MB removal efficiency of the cryogel column remained at 62.7% after three reuse cycles. The wastewater containing MB collected from a local batik-production community enterprise in Phuket, Thailand was applied to the proposed continuous-flow system under optimum conditions, and results indicated that 99.7% of the MB present in 2.4 L of wastewater was removed. These results validate the excellent application potential of the cryogel column for the continuous-flow adsorption of MB. This study will facilitate future industrial applications and process designs of the continuous-flow system.

pH-responsive magnetic graphene oxide composite as an adsorbent with high affinity for rapid capture of nucleosides

A novel pH-responsive magnetic graphene oxide composite (MGO@PEI-BA) is proposed for the first time as an adsorbent for the rapid capture and detection of nucleosides (cytidine, uridine, guanosine, and adenosine). The morphology, structure, and magnetic properties of the composite were evaluated using various characterization techniques. The results indicated that the composite was successfully fabricated. A series of parameters that affect extraction and elution were optimized through one-factor-at-a-time and Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology (BBD-RSM). The unique layered structures and easily accessible active sites of the composite facilitated molecular transport, resulting in instantaneous equilibrium of nucleosides adsorption within 5 min. Based on this study, a magnetic dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction (MD-μ-SPE) method assisted by the MGO@PEI-BA was developed in combination with UHPLC-UV analysis for the determination of nucleosides in rat urine. Under the optimum conditions, a wide linear range (10-2000 ng mL-1), good linearity (r > 0.99), low detection limits (1-3 ng mL-1), low relative standard deviations (RSDs ≤ 3.9%), and satisfactory recoveries (82.7-96.3%) were achieved. These results demonstrate that the MGO@PEI-BA is an excellent adsorbent for extracting nucleosides from biological samples.

Efficient and Selective Adsorption of Cationic Dye Malachite Green by Kiwi-Peel-Based Biosorbents

In this study, pristine kiwi peel (KP) and nitric acid modified kiwi peel (NA-KP) based adsorbents were prepared and evaluated for selective removal of cationic dye. The morphology and chemical structure of KP and NA-KP were fully characterized and compared, and results showed nitric acid modification introduced more functional groups. Moreover, the adsorption kinetics and isotherms of malachite green (MG) by KP and NA-KP were investigated and discussed. The results showed that the adsorption process of MG onto KP followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model, while the adsorption process of MG onto NA-KP followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm model. Notably, the Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of NA-KP was 580.61 mg g^-1, which was superior to that of KP (297.15 mg g^-1). Furthermore, thermodynamic studies demonstrated the feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic nature of the adsorption process of MG by NA-KP. Importantly, NA-KP showed superior selectivity to KP towards cationic dye MG against anionic dye methyl orange (MO). When the molar ratio of MG/MO was 1:1, the separation factor (α_MG/MO) of NA-KP was 698.10, which was 5.93 times of KP. In addition, hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions, and electrostatic interaction played important roles during the MG adsorption process by NA-KP. This work provided a low-cost, eco-friendly, and efficient option for the selective removal of cationic dye from dyeing wastewater.

Mussel inspired synthesis of polydopamine/polyethyleneimine-grafted fly ash composite adsorbent for the effective separation of U(VI)

Polydopamine/polyethyleneimine-grafted fly ash composite (PDA/PEI/FA), an efficient multifunctional adsorbent for U(VI) with excellent separation efficiency (94.5 %) and capacity (422.5 mg/g), was synthesized by grafting PDA and PEI on FA via Mussel inspiration and Michael addition reaction. The introduction of PDA and PEI had brought numerous functional groups with fine affinities to uranium, like catechol, amino and imino, causing good U(VI) separation performances. Langmuir and Pseudo-second-order models were well matched with experimental data, illustrating the U(VI) separation on PDA/PEI/FA was a homogeneous chemical adsorption process. After five cycles, the U(VI) adsorption efficiency for PDA/PEI/FA was still up to 90.2 %, implying that PDA/PEI/FA possessed good stability and reusability. Besides, the good dynamic adsorption performances of PDA/PEI/FA further demonstrated that PDA/PEI/FA was an ideal adsorbent for the practical wastewater treatment. According to the characterization results, U(VI) was absorbed by PAD/PEI/FA through complexation, redox reaction, electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding. Given the above, PDA/PEI/FA showed good practical application prospect in U(VI) separation.

Multifunctional pH-responsive carbon-based hydrogel adsorbent for ultrahigh capture of anionic and cationic dyes in wastewater

An environmental friendly hydrogel adsorbent (DEC@GEL) was successfully manufactured by a facile free-radical polymerization method. Multiple characterizations demonstrated that the adsorbent was rich in functional groups and porous structures. The batch and multisystem adsorption experiments were applied to systematically investigate the adsorption properties of methylene blue (MB), malachite green (MG), indigo sodium dimethyl sulfonate (IC) and tartrazine (TR) in wastewater. The experimental results proved that the kinetic and isotherms of four dyes were more consistent with the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir model, respectively. Notably, the maximum adsorption capacities of MB, MG, TR and IC at 318 K were 2186.85, 2302.53, 1766.13 and 2301.75 mg/g, respectively, which were higher than many adsorbents that had been reported. Recycle experiment demonstrated the high reusability of the DEC@GEL. The selectivity and adsorption column experiments proved that DEC@GEL was not only widely applicable to various dyes, but also provided a positive start for the industrial application. Moreover, the simulated adsorption experiments further demonstrate that DEC@GEL had the prospect of application in real industrial conditions. Finally, four adsorption mechanisms had been proposed. Various adsorption experiments had shown that DEC@GEL was not only efficient in processing dyes, but also had great potential for practical industrial applications.

Highly compressible and macro-porous hydrogels via the synergy of cryogelation and double-network for efficient removal of Cr(VI)

Mechanically robust and macro-porous hydrogels are urgently required for the dynamic removal of heavy metals in wastewater purification field. Herein, a novel microfibrillated cellulose/polyethyleneimine hydrogel (MFC/PEI-CD) with high compressibility and macro-porous structures was fabricated via the synergy of cryogelation and double-network for Cr(VI) adsorption from wastewater. MFCs were pre-cross-linked by bis(vinyl sulfonyl)methane (BVSM) and then formed double-network hydrogels with PEIs and glutaraldehyde below freezing. The SEM showed that the MFC/PEI-CD possessed interconnected macropores with an average pore diameter of 52 μm. Mechanical tests indicated a high compressive stress of 116.4 kPa at 80 % strain, which was 4 times higher than the corresponding MFC/PEI with a single-network. The Cr(VI) adsorption performance of MFC/PEI-CDs was systematically investigated under different parameters. Kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption process was well described by the pseudo-second-order model. Isothermal adsorption behaviors accorded well with Langmuir model with the maximum adsorption capacity of 545.1 mg/g, which was superior to most adsorption materials. More importantly, the MFC/PEI-CD was applied to dynamically adsorb Cr(VI) with the treatment volume of 2070 mL/g. Therefore, this work demonstrates that the synergy of cryogelation and double-network is a novel method for preparing macro-porous and robust materials with promising heavy metal removal from wastewater.

Selective adsorption of anionic and cationic dyes on mesoporous UiO-66 synthesized using a template-free sonochemistry method: kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies

In this study, template-free mesoporous UiO-66(U) has been successfully synthesized in shortened time by sonochemical methods and provided energy savings. The synthesized mesoporous UiO-66(U) demonstrated irregular morphology particle around 43.5 nm according to the SEM image. The N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherm indicated an irregular, 8.88 nm pore width mesoporous structure. Ultrasonic irradiation waves greatly altered mesoporous materials. A mechanism for mesoporous UiO-66(U) formation has been proposed based on the present findings. Sonochemical-solvent heat saves 97% more energy than solvothermal. Mesoporous UiO-66(U) outperformed solvothermal-synthesized UiO-66(S) in adsorption. These studies exhibited that mesopores in UiO-66 promote dye molecule mass transfer (MO, CR, and MB). According to kinetics and adsorption isotherms, the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models matched experimental results. Thermodynamic studies demonstrated that dye adsorption is spontaneous and exothermically governed by entropy, not enthalpy. Mesoporous UiO-66(U) also showed good anionic dye selectivity in mixed dye adsorption. Mesoporous UiO-66(U) may be regenerated four times while maintaining strong adsorption capability.

Hyperbranched polyethyleneimine-functionalised chitosan aerogel for highly efficient removal of melanoidins from wastewater

Melanoidins are hazardous dark-coloured substances contained in molasses-based distillery wastewater. Adsorption is an effective approach to eliminate melanoidins from wastewater. However, melanoidin adsorption capacities of available adsorbents are unsatisfactory, which seriously limits their practical application. A hyperbranched polyethyleneimine-functionalised chitosan aerogel (HPCA) was fabricated as an effective adsorbent for melanoidin scavenging. HPCA demonstrated superior melanoidin adsorption efficiency because of its high specific surface area, abundant amino functional groups, and high hydrophilicity. Melanoidin removal rate of HPCA was 94.95%, which remained at 91.45% after 5 cycles. Notably, using the Langmuir isothermal model, the maximum melanoidin adsorption capacity of HPCA was determined to be 868.36 mg/g, surpassing those of most of previously reported adsorbents. Toxicity experiments indicated that HPCA can be considered a safe adsorbent with excellent biocompatibility that hardly threatens aquatic organisms. The efficient melanoidin removal of HPCA was attributed to electrostatic attraction, H-bonding, and van der Waals force. However, the adsorption might be predominantly controlled by electrovalent interaction between protonated amino groups of HPCA and carboxyl/carboxylate groups of melanoidins. Two novel models, namely, external diffusion resistance-internal diffusion resistance mixed model and adsorption on active site model, were employed to describe the dynamic mass transfer characteristics of melanoidin adsorption by HPCA.

Rapid, Highly-Efficient and Selective Removal of Anionic and Cationic Dyes from Wastewater Using Hollow Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules

Herein, poly (allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH)/ poly (styrene sulfonic acid) sodium salt (PSS) microcapsules of (PAH/PSS)2PAH (P2P MCs) and (PAH/PSS)2 (P2 MCs) were obtained by a layer-by-layer method. The P2 MCs show high adsorption capacity for Rhodamine B (642.26 mg/g) and methylene blue (909.25 mg/g), with an extremely low equilibrium adsorption time (~20 min). The P2P MCs exhibited high adsorption capacities of reactive orange K-G (ROKG) and direct yellow 5G (DY5G) which were 404.79 and 451.56 mg/g. Adsorption processes of all dyes onto microcapsules were best described by the Langmuir isotherm model and a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. In addition, the P2P MCs loaded with reactive dyes (P2P–ROKG), could further adsorb rhodamine B (RhB) dye, and P2 MCs that had adsorbed cationic MB dyes could also be used for secondary adsorption treatment of direct dye waste-water, respectively. The present work confirmed that P2P and P2 MCs were expected to become an excellent adsorbent in the water treatment industry.

Synthesis of mesoporous-structured MIL-68(Al)/MCM-41-NH2 for methyl orange adsorption: Optimization and Selectivity

Here, we report a novel amino-modified mesoporous-structured aluminum-based metal-organic framework adsorbent, MIL-68(Al)/MCM-41-NH₂, for dye sewage treatment. The introduction of molecular sieves overcomes the inherent defects of microporous MOFs in contaminant transfer and provides more active sites to enhance adsorption efficiency. Compared with using organic amino ligands directly, this strategy is ten times cheaper. The composite was well characterized and analyzed in terms of morphology, structure and chemical composition. Batch experiments were carried out to study the influences of essential factors on the process, such as pH and temperature. In addition, their interactions and the optimum conditions were examined using response surface methodology (RSM). The adsorption kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamics were systematically elucidated. In detail, the adsorption process conforms to pseudo-second-order kinetics and follows the Sips and Freundlich isothermal models. Moreover, the maximum adsorption capacity Q_s of methyl orange (MO) was 477 mg g^-1. It could be concluded that the process was spontaneous, exothermic, and entropy-reducing. Several binary dye systems have been designed for selective adsorption research. Our material has an affinity for anionic pigments. The adsorption mechanisms were discussed in depth. The electrostatic interaction might be the dominant effect. Meanwhile, hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking, and pore filling might be important driving forces. The excellent thermal stability and recyclability of the adsorbent are readily noticed. After five reuse cycles, the composite still possesses a removal efficiency of 90% for MO. Overall, the efficient and low-cost composite can be regarded as a promising adsorbent for the selective adsorption of anionic dyes from wastewater.

Enhanced Removal of Bordeaux B and Red G Dyes Used in Alpaca Wool Dying from Water Using Iron-Modified Activated Carbon

The aim of this research was to explore the removal of Red G and Bordeaux B dyes from water using a packed bed column with conventional carbon (C‐conv) and iron‐modified activated carbon (C–FeCl3). The bands increased in C–FeCl3, corresponding to groups already existing in C‐conv, such as C = C and C‐C, and the appearance of new groups, such as C‐O, C‐Cl, Fe‐Cl and Fe‐O. The total ash content (CT) was CT = (10.53 ± 0.12 and 8.98 ± 0.21)% for C‐conv and C–FeCl3, respectively. A molecular structure in the shape of a cross was noticed in Bordeaux B, which was less complex and smaller than the one in Red G. For fixed‐bed columns, the carbon fraction was (0.43 and 0.85) mm. The pH of the adsorbents was 8.55 for C‐conv and 4.14 for C–FeCl3. Breakthrough curves were obtained and the Thomas model (TM) and Yoon–Nelson model (YNM) were applied. The sorption capacity of Bordeaux B on C‐conv and C–FeCl3 was 𝑞TH: (237.88 and 216.21) mg/g, respectively, but the one of Red G was 𝑞TH: (338.46 and 329.42) mg/g. The dye removal (RT) was over 55%. 

Accurate Removal of Toxic Organic Pollutants from Complex Water Matrices

Characteristic emerging pollutants at low concentration have raised much attention for causing a bottleneck in water remediation, especially in complex water matrices where high concentration of interferents coexist. In the future, tailored treatment methods are therefore of increasing significance for accurate removal of target pollutants in different water matrices. This critical review focuses on the overall strategies for accurately removing highly toxic emerging pollutants in the presence of typical interferents. The main difficulties hindering the improvement of selectivity in complex matrices are analyzed, implying that it is difficult to adopt a universal approach for multiple targets and water substrates. Selective methods based on assorted principles are proposed aiming to improve the anti-interference ability. Thus, typical approaches and fundamentals to achieve selectivity are subsequently summarized including their mechanism, superiority and inferior position, application scope, improvement method and the bottlenecks. The results show that different methods may be applicable to certain conditions and target pollutants. To better understand the mechanism of each selective method and further select the appropriate method, advanced methods for qualitative and quantitative characterization of selectivity are presented. The processes of adsorption, interaction, electron transfer, and bond breaking are discussed. Some comparable selective quantitative methods are helpful for promoting the development of related fields. The research framework of selectivity removal and its fundamentals are established. Presently, although continuous advances and remarkable achievements have been attained in the selective removal of characteristic organic pollutants, there are still various substantial challenges and opportunities. It is hopeful to inspire the researches on the new generation of water and wastewater treatment technology, which can selectively and preferentially treat characteristic pollutants, and establish a reliable research framework to lead the direction of environmental science.