Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Wastewater Using Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate-Modified Cellulose Nanofibers: Kinetic, Equilibrium, and Thermodynamic Analysis

Mohamed Gouda and Abdullah Aljaafari
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Mohamed Gouda: Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah Aljaafari: Department of Physics, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: The objective of this work was to fabricate modified cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) for the removal of heavy metal ions (Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ ) from wastewater. Cellulose was modified with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) via grafting copolymerization using the microwave-assisted technique in the presence of ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as an initiator. Prepared cellulose-graft-(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (HEMA/C) copolymers were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Different factors affecting the graft yield, such as irradiation time, monomer concentrations, and initiator concentrations, were investigated. Furthermore, cellulose-graft-(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) copolymer nanofibers (HEMA/CNF) were fabricated by electrospinning using N , N -dimethylacetamide-LiCl as a solvent. Electrospun nanofiber copolymers were characterized using SEM and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Operating parameters, including time, starting metal concentrations, and adsorbent concentration, were analyzed at a pH of 5.6 for the two metal ions. The best-fit model of adsorption energy was the pseudo-second-order model, and adsorption isotherms at equilibrium were well described by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The negative values of ?G and positive values of ?H and ?S suggest that the adsorption of Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ ions onto electrospun HEMA/CNF is a spontaneous, endothermic, and favorable reaction.

Keywords: microwave technique; electrospinning; grafting copolymerization; cellulose nanofiber; heavy metal sorption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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