Remediation of Vanadium (V) and Chromium (III) Ions from Aqueous Media by Modified Nanocellulose Obtained from Coconut Coir
Asher Benjamin Daniel, Erum Zahir, Muhammad Asif Asghar
Abstract
In this article, we describe a novel method for the modification of nanocellulose (MNC) produced from coconut coir (a bio-waste) by acetylization applied to the removal of vanadium (V) and chromium (III) metal ions from an aqueous phase in a batch study. The structure of the MNC formed was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. The adsorptive capacity of MNC was enhanced upon modification, achieving 93.6% removal for V V and 84.6% for Cr III at pH 5 within 30 min. The sorption data followed the Langmuir isotherm model (Qmax V V; 32.88 and Cr III; 114 mg g−1) with the fast adsorption rate following the pseudo-first-order model (k1 V V; 0.06 and Cr III 0.073 min−1, respectively). Thus, the MNC from coconut coir very much displayed the desired potential as a sorbent for the removal of these toxic pollutants from wastewater. The sorbent has a promising capability owing to its high sorption capacity which can be used at the industrial scale.