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An efficient eco-friendly adsorbent material based on waste copper slag-biomass ash geopolymer: dye sorption capacity and sustainable properties

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Abstract

The primary intent of the research is to comprehensively assess the environmental benefits and cost dynamics associated with the adsorption process of CS–RHA (Copper Slag and Rice Husk Ash) to produce a novel geopolymer adsorbent material for application in wastewater treatment. The geopolymer forms a polyiron sialate network under alkali activation by dissolving fayalite, and aluminium silicate to ferro-ferri silicate hydrate gel. The mechanical strength, leaching characteristics, and microstructure of the geopolymer were determined using XRD and FTIR, and magnetic properties by VSM as well surface properties were derived from BET surface area and zeta potential. Recognizing the critical role of sodium iron silicate hydrate (NFS) in the sorption of methylene blue (MB) dyestuff, batch experiments were carried out using different adsorbents. The results indicated that the dye removal efficiency increased from 60% in control samples (FS) to 98% for the blend (FS1) under different pH values. The data was found to fit with the nonlinear form of Freundlich isotherm and follow pseudo-second-order kinetics. The active adsorption sites were deduced as –O–Fe–O–Si–O–Na and Si–OH groups. The addition of RHA increases the adsorption capacity of the geopolymer in a short time through chemical adsorption. The significant negative surface charge promotes MB adsorption via improved electrostatic attraction. The spent adsorbents were recovered through magnetic separation with a retrieval rate of 80–85% and active sites were rejuvenated by calcination. Consequently, waste copper slag emerges as a promising adsorbent with minimum potential ecological risk and high effective recycling capacity.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Department of Science and Technology, the Government of India (GOI), under the grant DST/TDT/WMT/2017 14/03/18, GOI. The authors express their sincere appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP2024R436) King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The authors greatly acknowledge the utilization of facilities provided by DST-FIST, Department of Chemistry and NRC, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, India. The authors thank the authorities of SRMIST for funding the research scholars.

Funding

This work was supported by the Department of Science and Technology, the Government of India (GOI), under the grant DST/TDT/WMT/2017 14/03/18, GOI received by corresponding author and author (6) express their sincere appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP2024R436) King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, College of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India

    A. Mullaimalar, Rithikaa Thanigaiselvan, Janani Karuppaiyan & R. Jeyalakshmi

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, 603203, India

    S. Kiruthika

  3. Department of Zoology, College of Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box. 2455, 11451, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Mohammed F. Albeshr

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  1. A. Mullaimalar
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  3. Janani Karuppaiyan
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  4. S. Kiruthika
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  5. R. Jeyalakshmi
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by, A. Mullaimalar, Rithikaa Thanigaiselvan, Janani Karuppaiyan, S. Kiruthika,R. Jeyalakshmi, Mohammed F Albeshr. The first draft of the manuscript was written by A. Mullaimalar and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to R. Jeyalakshmi.

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The original online version of this article was revised: The Researchers Supporting Project Number is corrected from ‘RSP2023R436’ to ‘RSP2024R436’.

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Mullaimalar, A., Thanigaiselvan, R., Karuppaiyan, J. et al. An efficient eco-friendly adsorbent material based on waste copper slag-biomass ash geopolymer: dye sorption capacity and sustainable properties. Environ Geochem Health 46, 110 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-01920-9

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