Facile and Eco-Friendly Fabrication of Multifunctional Melamine Sponge for Labeled Cr(VI) Removal and Highly Efficient Oil/Water Separation

Fabrication of multifunctional adsorbent of single-phase material is quite challenging and meaningful for water treatment. In this work, a polyaminosiloxane functionalized melamine sponge is used to remove both heavy metal ions and oil from water. Benefiting from its porous structure, superhydrophobic surface, and abundant amino groups on the surface, the sponge shows excellent performance in Cr(VI) removal and oil/water separation. Notably, the sponge exhibits fluorescent detection function for Cr(VI) owing to the packing of Schiff-base bonds, facilitating the adsorption process to be monitored in real time. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) is 252.82 mg g⁻¹ with good selectivity. In addition to the excellent Cr(VI) removal performance, its superhydrophobic nature allows it to adsorb 92.42 times the weight of oil and realize 99.97% oil/water separation efficiency. This trifunctional cost-effective adsorption material shows great potential for large-scale water purification application.     

Development of polyethersulfone/polylactic acid-blended nanocellulose membranes for enhanced removal of methylene blue dye

Herein, adsorptive polyethersulfone/polylactic acid (PES/PLA) blends membranes with systematic concentrations of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) (0.5–2.5 wt%) were developed via a modified phase inversion process for the enhanced removal of cationic methylene blue (MB) dye. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such adsorptive membranes have been produced for potential use in wastewater treatment. The fabricated membranes were characterized for surface and cross-sectional morphology (scanning electron microscope), surface roughness (atomic force microscope), functionality (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), thermal stability (thermal gravimetric analysis), wettability (contact angle measurements), antifouling behavior (flux recovery studies), and dye adsorption and reusability (adsorption and desorption tests). CNF incorporated membranes showed improved wetting properties, with contact angle decreasing from 76° in the pristine membranes to 48° in 2.5 wt% PES/PLA membranes. The membrane bulk porosity increased from 60.3% to 79.23%, while the pure water flux increased from 210.8 to 399.12 Lm⁻² h⁻¹. At optimal conditions, CNF-modified membranes removed >98% of MB compared with 8% removal by the pristine membranes. After five cycles of adsorption and desorption, the membrane with 2 wt% CNFs achieved over 70% dye removal showing excellent reusability properties. Adsorption followed pseudo-second-order and Freundlich models. The adsorption was attributed to electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged membrane surfaces and the positively charged dye molecules as well as through hydrogen bonding. Therefore, this work revealed that CNF-modified PES/PLA membranes can be used as adsorbents for the enhanced removal of organic pollutants in water treatment applications.     

Preparation of a modified crosslinked chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol blended affinity membrane for purification of His-tagged protein

Based on a crosslinked chitosan (CS)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix membrane, an immobilized metal ion affinity membrane (IMAM) using Cu²⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions as affinity ligands was prepared for purification of the His-tagged recombinant protein. The affinity membrane possessed a favorable membrane structure including 1.39 μm average pore size and 0.33 mL·cm⁻²·s⁻¹ water flux under 0.08 MPa pressure at 25 °C. The Cu²⁺ and Ni²⁺ ions capacities immobilized on the IMAM were 155.6 and 137.3 μmol·disk⁻¹, respectively. The IMAM had an excellent specific affinity to His-tagged protein. About 10-fold purification factor for the model protein was obtained in a batch adsorption, and serine hydroxymethyl transferase could be purified to a single band in sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis from its crude extract solution with an affinity membrane cartridge by a dynamic purification process. This work provides a promising IMAM for the purification of His-tagged recombinant proteins. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47347.     

Two-resistance mass transfer models for the adsorption of dyestuffs from aqueous solutions using activated carbon

The adsorption of telon blue (acid blue 25) dye and deorlene yellow (basic yellow) dye on to carbon has been studied. A two-resistance mass transfer model has been developed based on film resistance and homogeneous solid phase diffusion. The model may be applied over a wider range of operating conditions than previous models since it has more extensive analytical components. The variables investigated were initial dye concentration and solid: liquid ratio, and the experimental and theoretical results were in good agreement. The adsorption of telon blue on to carbon has been described using an external mass transfer coefficient of 2.0 × 10⁻³ cm s⁻¹ and a homogeneous solid phase diffusion coefficient of 2.0 × 10⁻⁹ cm² s⁻¹. The adsorption of deorlene yellow has been described using an external mass transfer coefficient of 1.0 × 10⁻³ cm s⁻¹ and a homogeneous solid phase diffusion coefficient of 3.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ cm² s⁻¹.     

Green and feasible fabrication of loose nanofiltration membrane with high efficiency for fractionation of dye/NaCl mixture by taking advantage of membrane fouling

Loose nanofiltration membrane emerges as required recently, since it is hard for conventional nanofiltration membrane to fractionate mixture of dyes and salts in textile wastewater treatment. However, the polymeric membranes unavoidably suffer from membrane fouling, which was caused by the adsorption of organic pollutants (like dyes). Normally, the dye fouling layer will shrink membrane pore size, thus resulting in flux decline and rejection increase. It is thought that membrane fouling may be a double-edged sword and can be an advantage if properly utilized. Thereby, loose nanofiltration membranes were constructed here by a green yet effective method to fractionate dyes/salt mixture by taking advantage of membrane fouling without using poisonous ingredients. A commercially available polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration membrane with high permeability was chosen as the substrate, and dyes were used to contaminate PAN substrate and formed a stable barrier layer when adsorption of dyes reached dynamic equilibrium. The resultant PAN-direct red 80 (DR80) composite membranes displayed superior permeability (~128.4 L m⁻² h⁻¹) and high rejection (~99.9%) to DR80 solutions at 0.4 MPa. Moreover, PAN-DR80 membranes allowed fast fractionation of dyes/sodium chloride (NaCl) mixture, which maintained a negligible dye loss and a low NaCl rejection (~12.4%) with high flux of 113.6 L m⁻² h⁻¹ at 0.4 MPa. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47438.     

Performance of pseudo-specific cryogel in lysozyme purification from chicken egg white

The application of cryogels for biomolecule purification has expanded due to their adsorption efficiency and operational advantages. In this study, polyacrylamide cryogels functionalized with l -phenylalanine (cryogel-Phe) via the glutaraldehyde method were designed for lysozyme adsorption. Cryogel functionalization was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Kjeldahl analysis, indicating the immobilization of 458.65 mg_{phenylalanine} g_cryogel⁻¹. Cryogel-Phe showed high porosity (0.95) and a Young's modulus of 526.71 kPa. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that thermal degradation occurred above 200°C. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction confirmed that the cryogel material was amorphous. In addition, the column presented a hydraulic permeability of 4.15 × 10⁻¹³ m², axial dispersion ranging from 10⁻⁷ to 10⁻⁶ m² s⁻¹, and a height equivalent to a theoretical plate ranging from 0.10 to 0.21 cm. The highest adsorption of lysozyme (67.65 mg g⁻¹) was obtained using sodium thiocyanate saline solution (0.025 mol L⁻¹, pH 5.0). The ability of the cryogel-Phe column to capture and purify lysozyme was confirmed by high enzymatic activity (1294.17 U ml⁻¹), purity (87.92%), purification factor (11.49), and sulphate-polyacrylamide electrophoresis gel (SDS-PAGE) electrophoresis gel.     

Enhanced glycerol dehydration of pervaporation cross-linked PVA membranes modified by VUV/UV-C treatments

The high glycerol miscibility in water needs more efficient processes to decrease the cost of dehydration. Water stable poly(vinyl alcohol) based membranes cross-linked with 15% w/w of maleic acid were used for dehydrating glycerol-water mixtures using pervaporation (PV). The membranes were characterized using water contact angle, profilometry, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, water stability, swelling tests, and PV. Membranes were treated using dry methods with vacuum ultraviolet (VUV; 162 nm) or ultraviolet (UV)-C (254 nm) radiation and exposed to O₂ or acrylic acid vapors, respectively. The VUV and UV-C treatments improve PV performances, increasing the water separation selectivity more than 4 and 8.5 times, respectively. UV-C treatments exhibit a water flux (kg m⁻² h⁻¹), selectivity and PSI (kg m⁻² h⁻¹) of 0.3, 250, and 87.4 respectively. Highly hydrophilic functional groups grafted onto the surface of the membranes after irradiation favor the selective transfer of water through the membrane. Overall, the VUV or UV-C membrane treatments show great PV prospect in glycerol dehydration.     

Water purification using a BiVO4/graphene oxide multifunctional hydrogel based on interfacial adsorption-enrichment and photocatalytic antibacterial activity

Photocatalytic degradation by visible light-driven generation of reactive oxygen species shows great promise for purification of environmental water. However, such degradation is limited by the low separation efficiency of photogenerated carriers and the poor adsorption capacity of the photocatalyst itself. To solve these problems, we successfully constructed and prepared a composite hydrogel (BV-GH) combining a three-dimensional network structure composed of graphene oxide and BiVO₄ to achieve the synergistic effects of adsorption enrichment and photocatalytic degradation. The results show that the amount of methylene blue and methyl orange adsorbed by BV-GH is 258.78 mg g^?1 and 217.16 mg g^?1, respectively, which is much higher than that obtained for pure BiVO₄. Due to the synergistic effect of adsorption enrichment and photocatalytic degradation, the degradation rate of the dye by BV-GH reaches 94.18% in 60 min, which is 6.98 times higher than that obtained for pure BiVO₄. Electron spin-resonance (ESR) experiments confirm that the main factor affecting the dye degradation by BV-GH is the ability to produce more ·OH and ·O₂^?, which is an important reason for the excellent antibacterial performance of BV-GH against E. coli. This work can provide further inspiration for photocatalytic technology in water purification.     

Fabrication and characterization of silane-functionalized Na-bentonite polysulfone/polyethylenimine nanocomposite membranes for dye removal

In this study, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-functionalized Na-bentonite incorporated into polysulfone/polyethylenimine (PSF/PEI) membranes were fabricated by phase inversion method for the efficient removal of methylene blue dye. For the preparation of PSF/PEI nanocomposite membranes, silane-functionalized Na-bentonite and pure Na-bentonite were used at three different concentrations (0.5, 1, and 2 wt%). The prepared membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, porosity, hydrophilicity, and water permeability measurements. Antifouling behaviors and methylene blue dye rejections of the PSF/PEI nanocomposite membranes were also tested. The obtained results showed that the addition of pure Na-bentonite and silane-functionalized Na-bentonite both increased the water permeability of the membranes. The PSF/PEI membrane containing 2 wt% silane-functionalized Na-bentonite showed the highest water flux of 105 L m⁻² h⁻¹, while the lowest water flux of 1.2 L m⁻² h⁻¹ was recorded for pure PSF membrane. Filtration results demonstrated that the antifouling capacity was significantly increased due to the negatively charged surface of the newly generated silane-functionalized Na-bentonite PSF/PEI membranes. In summary, TEOS-functionalized Na-bentonite can be used to fabricate PSF/PEI nanocomposite membranes with effective filtration ability, antifouling capacity with lower decay ratio, higher flux recovery ratio, and 99% methylene blue dye removal performance.     

Adsorption removal of Brilliant green and Safranin-O contaminants from water using a hydrogel based on carboxymethyl cellulose and sodium alginate crosslinked by epichlorohydrin

The current study investigates the adsorption properties of a chemically crosslinked hydrogel based on sodium alginate (NaALG) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). The structural characteristics of the investigated hydrogel are described using information from Fourier Transform–infrared spectra, X-ray diffraction patterns and field emission scanning electron microscopy pictures. The NaALG/epichlorohydrin (ECH)/CMC hydrogel was synthesised under optimised conditions with respect to the swelling percentage. Various reaction parameters were varied to obtain the maximum swelling percentage. The synthesised hydrogel was taken as an adsorbent in the decolorisation of Brilliant green (BG) and Safranin-O (SO) dyes from water. According to the kinetic investigations, the decolorisation equilibrium of SO by NaALG/ECH/CMC was discovered in 4 hours (98.98%), while the removal of BG by NaALG/ECH/CMC took 6 hours (97.7%). Chemical processes were used to describe the decolorisation mechanisms, which significantly supported the pseudo-first-order model. NaALG/ECH/CMC hydrogel absorption was indicated to take place in monolayer adsorption form (Langmuir isotherm). The highest adsorption capacity for BG was discovered to be 864.8 mg g⁻¹ and for SO it was 193.1 mg g⁻¹, by synthesised hydrogel, where “mg” refers to the commercial colourant and not to the pure dye. Therefore, the synthesised hydrogel can be considered as a smart device for the adsorption of dye in water purification tasks.     

Superparamagnetic polyvinylpyrrolidone/chitosan/Fe3O4 electrospun nanofibers as effective U(VI) adsorbents

Magnetoactive electrospun fibrous membranes consisting of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), chitosan (CS) and pre-fabricated, double-layer oleic acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles (OA.OA.Fe₃O₄) were fabricated and evaluated as new adsorbent materials for the removal and recovery of uranium (U(VI)) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption has been investigated by batch-type experiments and the solid material has been characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (TEM/EDX) and vibration sample magnetometry (VSM) measurements prior and after uranium adsorption. The experimental adsorption data were found to be well fitted with the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The results indicate that PVP/CS/OA.OA.Fe₃O₄ fibrous adsorbents exhibit good adsorption properties towards U(VI) in aqueous solutions, achieving a q_max value of 0.77 mol kg⁻¹ (183.3 mg g⁻¹) at pH 6.0. The experiments regarding the regeneration and reuse of the magnetoactive adsorbents were carried out using Na₂CO₃, at pH ~11. After four cycles, the percentage relative adsorption remained stable (~100%) whereas the desorption percentage decreased from 31.9% to 21.0%. Generally, the presented results demonstrate that the incorporation of the Fe₃O₄ NPs has a positive effect on the adsorption efficiency of U(VI) from aquatic environments.     

In vitro cadmium removal from human serum by Cibacron Blue F3GA–thionein‐complex conjugated affinity membranes

A new membrane affinity biosorbent carrying thionein has been developed for selective removal of cadmium ions from human serum. Microporous poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) membranes were prepared by photopolymerization of HEMA. The pseudo dye ligand Cibacron Blue F3GA (CB) was covalently immobilized on the pHEMA membranes. Then, the cysteine‐rich metallopeptide thionein was conjugated onto the CB‐immobilized membrane. The maximum amounts of CB immobilized and thionein conjugated on the membranes were 1.07 µmol cm⁻² and 0.92 µmol cm⁻², respectively. The hydrophilic pHEMA membrane had a swelling ratio of 58% (w/w) with a contact angle of 45.8 °. CB‐immobilized and CB‐immobilized–thionein‐conjugated membranes were used in the Cd(II) removal studies. Cd(II) ion adsorption appeared to reach equilibrium within 30 min and to follow a typical Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The maximum capacity (q _m) of the CB‐immobilized membranes was 0.203 (µmol Cd(II)) cm⁻² membrane and increased to 1.48 (µmol Cd(II)) cm⁻² upon CB–thionein‐complex conjugation. The pHEMA membranes retained their cadmium adsorption capacity even after 10 cycles of repeated use. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Citric acid modified waste cigarette filters for adsorptive removal of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution

Waste cigarette filters (CFs) were recycled and modified with a nontoxic and low-cost citric acid (CA). The modified CFs were employed in the adsorptive removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous medium. The influence of pH, contact time, initial dye concentration, and adsorbent dose on adsorption of MB dye was evaluated. The adsorption studies were conducted by employing linear and nonlinear Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The adsorption capacity of CF obtained through linear and nonlinear Langmuir model were 88.02 and 94 mg g⁻¹, which improved up to 163.93 and 168.81 mg g⁻¹, respectively, after the introduction of functional groups in CF-CA. The adsorption kinetics data were well fitted by pseudo-second order kinetics with coefficient of regression (R²) closed to unity. The removal efficiency of CF-CA was 97% at equilibrium time of 4 h. Desorption studies indicated that CF-CA could be regenerated by using HCl (0.1 M) and desorption efficiency was up to 82% upon second cycle of reusability experiment. This study proposed a green and economical use of recycled CFs in dyes wastewater treatment, simultaneously reducing the negative environmental impact due to their improper disposal.     

Defluoridation of drinking water by Mg/Al hydrotalcite-like compounds and their calcined products

Fluorosis, developed in the population who depends on water with high concentrations of fluoride for their daily drinking usage, is one of the most frequently occurring endemic diseases. To search for effective defluoridation agents, we studied F⁻ adsorption by synthetic Mg/Al–CO₃ hydrotalcite-like compounds (HT) and their calcined products (HTC). The adsorption experiments were carried out as a function of time, pH, and the adsorbate concentration. The affecting factors to fluoride sorption were found to be solution pH and the crystallinity of the HT. The results from our adsorption experiments indicated that F⁻ uptake by HTC was much stronger than their precursors HT. It was further observed that the maximal adsorption takes place within the first 15 min. HTs and HTCs exhibit a reversed trend in F⁻ uptake with regard to temperature of the hydrothermal treatment to HT. At any specific initial F⁻ concentration, the removal efficiency of F⁻ increases with the temperature for HTC, but decreases for HT. The removal efficiency is inversely related to the initial fluoride concentration for HTC obtained from HT synthesized at 130 °C (HTC130, the most efficient adsorbent seen in this study). The adsorption isotherm at pH 7 for HTC130 was linear and did not follow Langmuir equation; the K value (slope of the line) was calculated to be 0.46 L/g. HTC130 was shown to be able to bring F⁻ concentration from 5 mg/L down to less than 1 mg/L in aqueous solution, suggesting that this material may be a possible candidate for F⁻ removal.     

Affinity microspheres and their application to lysozyme adsorption: Cibacron Blue F3GA and Cu(II) with poly(HEMA-EGDMA)

Lysozyme adsorption onto Cibacron Blue F3GA attached and Cu(II) incorporated poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate–ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) [poly(HEMA-EGDMA)] microspheres was investigated. The microspheres were prepared by suspension polymerization. Various amounts of Cibacron Blue F3GA were attached covalently onto the microspheres by changing the initial concentration of dye in the reaction medium. The microspheres with a swelling ratio of 65%, and carrying different amounts of dye (between 1.4 and 22.5 µmol/g⁻¹) were used in the lysozyme adsorption studies. Lysozyme adsorption on these microspheres from aqueous solutions containing different amounts of lysozyme at different pH values was investigated in batch reactors. The lysozyme adsorption capacity of the dye–metal chelated microspheres (238.2 mg g⁻¹) was greater than that of the dye-attached microspheres (175.1 mg g⁻¹). The maximum lyzozyme adsorption capacities (q_m) and the dissociation constant (k_d) values were found to be 204.9 mg g⁻¹ and 0.0715 mg ml⁻¹ with dye-attached and 270.7 mg g⁻¹ and 0.0583 mg ml⁻¹ with dye–metal chelated microspheres, respectively. More than 90% of the adsorbed lysozyme were desorbed in 60 min in the desorption medium containing 0.5 M KSCN at pH 8.0 or 25 mM EDTA at pH 4.9. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Facile modification of polysulfone hollow-fiber membranes via the incorporation of well-dispersed iron oxide nanoparticles for protein purification

Protein existence in wastewater is an important issue in wastewater management because proteins are generally present as contaminants and foulants. Hence, in this study, we focused on designing a polysulfone (PSf) hollow-fiber membrane embedded with hydrophilic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) for protein purification by means of ultrafiltration. Before membrane fabrication, the dispersion stability of the IONPs was enhanced by the addition of a stabilizer, namely, citric acid (CA). Next, PSf–IONP–CA nanocomposite hollow-fiber membranes were prepared via a dry–wet spinning process and then characterized in terms of their hydrophilicity and morphology. Ultrafiltration and adsorption experiments were then conducted with bovine serum albumin as a model protein. The results that an IONP/CA weight ratio of 1:20 contributed to the most stable IONP dispersion. It was also revealed that the membrane incorporated with IONP–CA at a weight ratio of 1:20 exhibited the highest pure water permeability (58.6 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹) and protein rejection (98.5%) while maintaining a low protein adsorption (3.3 μg/cm²). The addition of well-dispersed IONPs enhanced the separation features of the PSf hollow-fiber membrane for protein purification. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47502.     

High-performance heterocyclic para-aramid aerogels for selective dye adsorption and thermal insulation applications

The high-performance polymer para-aramid (PPTA) is discovered to gel too soon during the polymerization process, resulting in poor processing performance. In this work, a homogeneous polymer solution containing heterocyclic para-aramid (HPPTA) was successfully synthesized by introducing 2,4-aminophenyl-5-aminobenzimidazole groups into the molecular chains of PPTA, and then HPPTA aerogel was prepared using a supercritical drying technique that took advantage of the HPPTA solution's excellent property of slow gelation. When the HPPTA polymer mass fraction was 1 wt%, the aerogel had the lowest density of 0.086 g cm⁻³ with a BET specific surface area of 376.59 m² g⁻¹. The HPPTA-2 aerogel had better adsorption performance for anionic dye methyl orange, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 319.47 mol g⁻¹; however, its adsorption capacity for cationic dye methylene blue and neutral dye dimethyl yellow was very low, at only 19.68 and 0 mol g⁻¹, respectively. The selective adsorption ability of HPPTA aerogel made it a simple and scalable platform for removing anionic dyes from water solutions. Furthermore, the HPPTA aerogel has outstanding thermal properties for thermal insulation applications in severe environments due to the synergistic effect of the 3D porous structure inside the aerogel and the exceptional thermal stability of the HPPTA.     

Synthesis of α‐cellulose/polypyrrole composite for the removal of reactive red dye from aqueous solution: Kinetics and equilibrium modeling

In this work, a composite from α‐cellulose coated with conducting polypyrrole by in situ polymerization using potassium persulfate as oxidant was obtained. The composite was characterized by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed homogeneous coating of α‐cellulose with polypyrrole (PPy) to produce a composite with a conductivity of 3.5 × 10⁻⁵ S/m. Batch aqueous adsorption experiments of the reactive red 120 (RR120) dye onto the synthesized material were conducted. The results showed that this composite is an efficient adsorbent for RR120 dye removal. For the adsorption experiments set to an initial pH of 3.9, the adsorption capacity was 15.6 mg of dye/g of composite for an equilibrium concentration (in the liquid) of RR120 dye equal to 1,000 mg/L, whereas a value of 96.1 mg of dye/g of composite was obtained when the solution pH was set to 2.0 for the same equilibrium concentration. When performing adsorption experiments using pure α‐cellulose, dye adsorption was insignificant at any pH value. Adsorption isotherm for RR120 was described by a typical Freundlich model. The transient adsorption of RR120 on the synthesized composite was described by a general three‐resistance model that includes the transport on the film that surrounds the composite particles, diffusion inside the particles, and adsorption on the surface of the particles. A fitting of the uptake curves was performed allowing the estimation of values for the effective diffusivity, D₀, and the adsorption rate coefficient, k₁. For the adsorption experiments with an initial pH value set to 3.9, D₀ was estimated as 1.05 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s, whereas k₁ was 1.65 × 10⁻⁴ Lⁿ/g mg^{n − 1} s; the corresponding values of k₁ at pH = 2 and 9.0 were 3.18 × 10⁻⁴ and 5.16 × 10⁻⁵, respectively. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:312–321, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Enhanced selective adsorption of cation organic dyes on polyvinyl alcohol/agar/maltodextrin water-resistance biomembrane

In this study, we designed a novel hydrogel composite membrane based on the combination of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), agar, and maltodextrin through a facile solution-casting router. From Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, contact angle, scanning electron microscopy, and swelling analyses, the formation of hydrogen bonds between surface functional groups of PVA, agar, and maltodextrin was confirmed. As a result, the PVA/agar/maltodextrin membranes exhibited a more hydrophobic nature compared with pure PVA. The thermal stability and integrity of such obtained composite membranes were also elucidated by the evaluation of thermogravimetric analysis and mechanical behavior. Besides, the composite membrane exhibited high selective adsorption for cationic dyes, namely 20.2 mg g⁻¹ for methylene blue and 19.17 mg g⁻¹ for crystal violet at initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L, an adsorbent dosage of 0.1 g, contact time of 180 min, and solution pH 7, while anionic dyes such as congo red and methyl orange are approximately zero. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm of the as-prepared composite membranes were well fitted to the pseudo-second-order and Temkin model. The effect of factors, including contact time, solution pH, PVA content, and initial dye concentration on the adsorption capacity of the as-prepared composite membrane was also investigated in detail. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 137, 48904.     

An all-green cellulose acetate/corn cob composite membrane filter: A critical evaluation of its morphology and adsorption characteristics for dyes and heavy metals

Industrial wastewater from various manufacturing sectors poses a significant environmental concern due to the release of dyes, heavy metals, and pollutants into natural water streams. Effective treatment of large volumes of industrial wastewater is crucial to mitigate this issue. Conventional industrial wastewater filtration systems often prove to be inefficient, necessitating the exploration of alternative and cost-effective water filtration methods. In this study, we drew inspiration from the natural adsorption and purification properties of corncob to develop a novel green composite membrane filter. The composite membrane filters, named MCAPCB and MCATPCB, were formulated by incorporating powdered corncob (PCB) and alkali/hydrogen peroxide-treated powdered corncob (TPCB) into cellulose acetate. The adsorption properties of the composite filters were evaluated using UV–Vis spectrophotometry for dye adsorption and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) for heavy metal adsorption. The results demonstrated that MCATPCB20, incorporating 20 wt% TPCB, exhibited remarkable performance in the removal of methylene blue dye, with an adsorption efficiency of 97.46%. In comparison, MCAPCB20, incorporating 20 wt% PCB, achieved a dye adsorption efficiency of 80.15%. Moreover, MCATPCB20 displayed exceptional heavy metal removal capabilities, effectively rejecting 98% and 95% of cadmium and lead, respectively, from water samples containing 1 ppm of each metal. The composite filter membranes containing 20 wt% TPCB exhibited superior adsorption efficiency, flexibility, and stability. This enhanced performance can be attributed to the higher carboxyl content in TPCB, achieved through alkali treatment, which significantly increased the adsorption capacity of MCATPCB20. Characterization studies employing XRD, SEM, contact angle, BET, ICP-OES, and UV measurements further supported the efficacy of MCATPCB as an effective filter system for water purification.