Abstract
Green-based materials represent a new promising class of ecofriendly and economic adsorbents. Herein, nano zero-valent iron supported-lemon derived biochar (NZVI-LBC) was prepared for the first time and examined in the adsorptive removal of methylene blue as a model pollutant. Different characterization tools were used to ensure the successful fabrication of the NZVI-LBC composite including FTIR, XRD, TEM, XPS, VSM, BET, and zeta potential analysis. It was found that the fabricated NZVI–supported biochar composite attained the propitious adsorbent criteria since it provided a supreme efficient adsorption process at short time. The reckoned maximum adsorption capacity of MB onto NZVI-LBC reached 1959.94 mg/g within merely 5 min. The obtained data clarified that the adsorption process of MB onto NZVI-LBC fitted pseudo 2nd order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm model. Besides, the adsorption process of MB onto NZVI-LBC was found to be endothermic in nature. In addition, NZVI-LBC composite revealed an excellent adsorption behavior even after seven cycles. The concrete results reflect the potentiality of NZVI-LBC composite to be a superb candidate to remove cationic pollutants from their aqueous solutions.
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1 Introduction
Water pollution is the most enormous environmental dilemma that is rising swiftly day-by-day. As a result, myriad diseases have aggravated such as typhoid, hepatitis, and cancer since the polluted water directly affects human health [1,2,3]. Thence, researchers have exerted arduous efforts, pursuing crucial solutions to get rid of these fatal pollutants and fulfill safe drinking water [4]. Among these troublesome contaminants, methylene blue (MB) is the most pervasive synthetic dyes in diversified potential industries such as food, paper, plastic, leather, and textile [5, 6]. Nevertheless, MB causes vast apprehensions on human health and our environment entirely. It was found that the existence of MB into water bodies even with minimal concentration has severe influences on human health including blood pressure, gastrointestinal pain, vomiting, headache, and irritation of throat [7, 8]. Hence, advanced techniques have evolved to face these catastrophic risks of MB such as electrolysis [9], catalytic reduction [10], photocatalysis [11,12,13], membrane separation [14], chemical oxidation [15], and particularly adsorption since it is quite simple, highly efficient, and costless techniques [16,17,18].
Biochar (BC) is a dusty carbonaceous compound that is produced via thermochemical decomposition of diverse and bountiful bio-wastes [19,20,21,22,23]. BC has received vast consideration as a promising adsorbent owing to its appreciable characteristics including porous structure, huge specific surface area, high mechanical strength, and plenty of oxygenated functional groups (i.e., carboxylic and phenolic) [24, 25]. Furthermore, recycling bio-wastes especially the agriculture crop residuals instead of burning them is considered as the best of the best solution in terms of human health [26,27,28]. Several studies investigated that burning these crop residuals directly intensifies the suspended particulate matter, the main responsible for different respiratory diseases. Nonetheless, BC has a significant drawback which is a limited capacity to adsorb contaminants from aqueous media [29]. It was investigated that combining BC with magnetic nanomaterials is a feasible solution to overcome this flaw as well as it provides easy separation and good recyclability for BC.
NZVI is one of the most popular magnetic nanoparticle for wastewater treatment due to its incomparable properties including high specific surface area, excellent adsorption property, high surface energy, and strong reducing ability [30, 31]. However, NZVI suffers many flaws including aggregation, poor transportability, and reduced electron transfer [32]. So, diversified approaches have been implemented to get rid of these demerits such as using surfactants [33] and forming a composite to isolate the surface of NZVI particles, protecting them from exposure to air [34]. It was reported in related studies that NZVI-modified BC nanocomposite is a propitious candidate for the adsorptive removal of miscellaneous contaminants such as organic dye [35, 36], nitroaromatic compound [37], and heavy metals [38]. Essentially, this combination has a dual benefit since BC enhances the dispersion of the magnetic NZVI particles and inhibits their aggregation [39]. Thence, BC endows NZVI more stability in air with low aggregation, retaining its good adsorption and reduction properties [40]. On the other hand, NZVI ameliorates the adsorption capability of BC, as well as their magnetic behavior, and facilitates the separation by an external magnet rather than centrifugation and filtration techniques that are less efficient and consume longer time [41].
Herein, we adopted the concept of fabricating a low-cost and ecofriendly adsorbent possessing extraordinary fast and super-adsorption capability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to fabricate NZVI-supported lemon-derived biochar composite. A complete characterization of the fabricated NZVI-LBC magnetic nanocomposite was performed. Moreover, the fabricated NZVI-LBC nanocomposite was tested for the selective removal of MB.
2 Experimental section
2.1 Materials
Lemon residues were collected from a juice shop in Alexandria, Egypt. Ferric chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3.6H2O, 99%) was supplied from Alpha Chemika (India). Sodium borohydride (NaBH4, 98.7%) and ethanol (C2H5OH, 99%) were bought from Rankem (India). MB was obtained from MP Biomedicals, LLC (France).
2.2 Preparation of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite
Firstly, lemon residues were well washed with distilled water, then dried in an oven at 100 °C for 12 h. The formed crunchy lemon residues were grinded by a blender; afterwards, the obtained fine powder was carbonized in a muffle furnace at 500 °C for 5 h under oxygen-limited conditions since the crucible was put into a stainless steel cylinder. The air in the cylinder was removed by N2 gas to infer an oxygen-free atmosphere. Then, the cylinder was put into the furnace. Secondly, 0.1 g LBC and 0.35 g FeCl3.6H2O were dispersed in 20 ml ethanol for 15 min. Then after, freshly prepared NaBH4 solution (33 ml, 0.1 M) was added to the reaction mixture drop by drop under robust stirring. Ultimately, the black powder was separated by an external magnet, washed with ethanol, and dried under vacuum at 50 °C for 3 h.
2.3 Characterization tools
For in-depth study of the as-fabricated NZVI-LBC nanocomposite, various characterization tools were utilized including transmission electron microscope (TEM, JEOL-2100 plus) to investigate the surface morphology. The TEM sample was prepared by sonicating 5 mg of the NZVI-LBC composite into 10 ml of ethanol for 3 h. Then after, a few drops of the resulting suspension were put onto a grid coated with copper. Moreover, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm was performed to estimate the BET adsorption isotherm (BET, Beckman coulter) after the sample was degassed for 1 h at 250 °C, and the specific surface area was determined by plotting BET equation at P/P0 in the range from 0.01 to 0.35. The chemical composition was inspected by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR, Tensor II, Bruker) at a wavenumber range 4000–400 cm−1. The elemental analysis was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, Thermo Fisher Scientific). Besides, the magnetic property was measured by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM, Lake shore). In addition, the surface charge was detected by zeta potential (ZP, Malvern). The ZP sample was prepared by dispersing 1 mg of the NZVI-LBC composite into 10 ml of distilled water, then pH was adjusted by 0.01 M HCL and/or NaOH. Then, the suspension was sonicated for 1 h and injected into the cell of the instrument. Crystallite phase was scrutinized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, BRUKER D8 Advance Cu target) with wavelength λ = 1.54 A° (CuKα), at a tube voltage of 35 kV and tube current of 30 mA.
2.4 Batch adsorption
The adsorption capacity of the as-synthesized NZVI-LBC nanocomposite towards MB was scrutinized in a simple batch adsorption mode as follows: 10 mg NZVI-LBC nanocomposite was soaked in 20 ml MB with an initial concentration range 500–2000 mg/L. The impact of pH on the adsorption efficiency of MB was assessed in pH range 3–11, where pH of the contaminant solutions was adjusted by 0.1 M NaOH and/or HCl. For inspecting the impact of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite dose, the adsorption of MB was studied using various composite dosages ranging from 0.005 to 0.025 g. In addition, the impact of temperature on the adsorption process of MB was evaluated at a temperature range 25–55 °C. Finally, the contaminant residual concentration was tested by utilizing spectrophotometer at λmax = 664 nm. Finally, the removal efficiency (R%) and the adsorption capacity (q) were calculated by Eqs. 1 and 2:
where Co and Ct are the initial concentration and the concentration of MB at certain time, respectively. m is the mass of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite and V is the volume of MB solution, respectively.
2.5 Selectivity study
The selectivity of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite was examined in the presence of the cationic crystal violet (CV) and the anionic Congo red (CR) in a dye mixture binary system (MB-CV) and (MB-CR) and ternary system (MB-CR-CV). The test is carried out as follows: 0.01 g NZVI-LBC nanocomposite was added to 20 ml multi-dye solution, then NZVI-LBC was collected by an external magnet, and the concentration of residual dyes was measured via spectrophotometer (λmax (CR) = 500 nm and λmax (CV) = 598 nm).
2.6 Desorption study
The significant merit of any adsorbent such as low cost, ecofriendly, or even excellent adsorption property is useless if the adsorbent has poor reusability. Accordingly, it was a pivotal issue to attest the reusability of the as-synthesized NZVI-LBC nanocomposite. The reusability test was executed as follows: the magnetic NZVI-LBC nanocomposite was collected by an external magnet after each adsorption cycle (V = 20 mL, C0 = 500 mg/L and adsorbent dose 0.01 g), washed with ethanol, and reused in the next cycle.
3 Results and discussion
3.1 Investigation of the properties of the as-fabricated NZVI-LBC nanocomposite
3.1.1 XRD
Figure 1A clarifies the crystal phase of LBC, NZVI, and NZVI-LBC nanocomposite. For LBC, XRD spectrum signifies the amorphous phase of the as-synthesized LBC. Moreover, XRD of NZVI points out its characteristic peak at 2θ = 44.8° which is the fingerprint of body-centered cubic NZVI [42], whereas XRD spectrum of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite elucidates the distinguishing peak of NZVI with lower intensity than the pristine NZVI, reflecting the successful incorporation of NZVI into LBC [40].
3.1.2 FTIR
FTIR spectra of LBC, NZVI, and NZVI-LBC nanocomposite exhibit (Fig. 1B) broad band around 3300 cm−1 which is ascribed to OH vibration stretching. FTIR spectrum of LBC displays the two peaks at 795 and 1592 cm−1 which are attributed to C-H and C = C of the aromatic ring, respectively [43]. Besides, the peak at 457 cm−1 belongs to Si–O and the peak at 1086 cm−1 relates to C-O of ester [44]. Moreover, FTIR of NZVI reveals the belonging peak to NZVI at 680 cm−1, while the two peaks at 995 and 1320 cm−1 are corresponded to FeOOH, evincing the core–shell structure of NZVI [45]. In addition, the peak at 1600 cm−1 is ascribed to OH binding and the peaks at 459 and 685 cm−1 are assigned to Fe–O stretching vibration [30, 46]. FTIR spectrum of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite clarifies the discriminative peaks of both LBC and NZVI but with low peak intensities.
3.1.3 XPS
XPS spectra signalize the successful fabrication of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite since the survey spectrum (Fig. 2A) illustrates the main elements of the nanocomposite: Fe2p, C1s, and O1s. For Fe2p spectrum (Fig. 2B), Fe2+ appeared at BE of 710.85 eV, while the two peaks emerged at BE of 713.97 and 716.74 eV correspond to Fe3+ [47]. Essentially, the presence of Fe0 indicated by the peak at BE of 720.81 and the existence of FeOOH at BE of 724.66 and 728.34 eV infers the suggested core–shell structure of NZVI [48]. Moreover, C1s spectrum (Fig. 2C) points out the peaks at BE of 288.35, 285.96, and 284.19 eV which are ascribed to C = O, C-O, and C = C, respectively [49]. Furthermore, O1s spectrum (Fig. 2D) clarifies the corresponding peaks to FeOOH, Fe–O, and C-O at BE of 529.99, 530.96, and 533.25 eV, respectively [42].
3.1.4 TEM
TEM image of NZVI (Fig. 3A) points out a great aggregation of the particles owing to their high magnetism. Furthermore, Fig. 3B infers the distinctive core–shell structure of NZVI that is ascribed to the oxidation or corrosion of Fe0 due to the existence of water and oxygen during the fabrication process, resulting in the formation of iron oxide shell surrounding the surface of Fe0 [50]. On the other hand, TEM images of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite (Fig. 3C, D) clarify the well-dispersion of the particles since the presence of LBC dwindles the magnetism of NZVI, resulting in diminishes the aggregation of the particles [42].
3.1.5 VSM
To assert the TEM observation, the magnetism of pure NZVI and NZVI-LBC nanocomposite was inspected by VSM. Figure 4A points out that the saturation magnetization of NZVI decreased almost to its half (from 72.50 to 39.36 emu/g) after the combination with the non-magnetic LBC. Furthermore, it was found that the coercivity values of NZVI and NZVI-LBC is larger than 20 G, indicating the soft ferromagnetic behavior of both samples.
3.1.6 Zeta potential
In general, electrostatic interaction is almost the dominant mechanism of the adsorption of most contaminants. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the surface charge of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite. Figure 4B shows the point of zero charges (PZC) of NZVI-LBC at pH 3.5, reflecting a favorability of NZVI-LBC to adsorb the cationic contaminants such as MB at pH > 3.5 owing to the abundance of negative charges onto its surface that spontaneously attract the positive MB molecules. Contrariwise, at pH < 3.5, the surface of NZVI-LBC is loaded with positive charges, resulting in electrostatic repulsion between the positive MB molecules and the positively charged NZVI-LBC.
3.1.7 Textural properties
Figure 4C represents the N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms of NZVI and NZVI-LBC nanocomposite. It is apparent from the isotherms that both NZVI and NZVI-LBC exhibit type II. Furthermore, the specific surface area (SBET) of NZVI increases around two-fold after the incorporation into LBC since the SBET of NZVI, LBC, and NZVI-LBC are 79.51, 217.58, and 163.45 m2/g, respectively. In addition to an enhancement in the pore volume of NZVI-LBC (6.79 nm) compared with the pure NZVI (1.26 nm) and LBC (4.38 nm).
3.2 Investigation of the optimum conditions for the adsorption of MB onto NZVI-LBC nanocomposite
A comparative study between the adsorption efficacy of LBC, NZVI, and NZVI-LBC was executed as follows: 10 mg of each adsorbent was separately added to MB (20 ml, 500 mg/L) at pH 9 and 25 °C. It was found that the adsorption capacity of MB onto LBC, NZVI, and NZVI-LBC were 49.36, 198.62, and 957.70 mg/g, respectively. This finding clarified the fascinating impact of the mixing between NZVI and LBC to obtain an adsorbent with a propitious adsorbability toward such noxious dye.
3.2.1 The influence of solution pH
The leverage of pH on the uptake efficacy of MB onto NZVI-LBC nanocomposite was thoroughly scrutinized over a wide pH range (3–11). Figure 5A depicts that the raising in pH from 3 to 11 dramatically enhances the adsorption capacity from 791.64 to 963.30 mg/g and the removal (%) from 78.25 to 96.17%. This finding may be anticipated by the significant competition between H+ ions and the positive MB molecules towards NZVI-LBC at low pH that hinders the uptake of MB [51]. In addition, the NZVI-LBC surface is positively charged (ZP = 7.4 mV) at low pH, resulting in electrostatic repulsion forces between the cationic MB molecules and NZVI-LBC. Conversely, the raising in pH decreases the concentration of H+ ions, as well as increases the negative charges on the surface of NZVI-LBC (ZP = − 91.6 mV at pH 11). Thence, the enhancement in the adsorption efficacy at high pH may be attributed to the strong electrostatic interaction between the positive MB molecules and the negatively charged NZVI-LBC nanocomposite [52, 53].
3.2.2 The influence of dosage of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite
Figure 5B outlines the influence of the augmentation of the dosage of NZVI-LBC on the adsorption capacity and removal (%) of MB. It was noticed the increase in NZVI-LBC from 0.005 to 0.025 g declines the adsorption capacity of MB from 1057.09 to 398.76 mg/g, respectively, which may be attributed to the aggregation of the particles. On the contrary, the increase in the dosage of NZVI-LBC uplifted the removal (%) reached 99.68%, resulting from the availability of severe binding sites [54]. However, the further rising in NZVI-LBC dose over 0.01 g has a slight effect on the removal (%). Therefore, 0.01 g was picked out as the apt dose taking into consideration adsorbent cost, removal rate, and adsorption amount.
3.2.3 The influence of initial concentration of MB
Figure 5C exhibits the leverage of the increase in the initial concentration of MB on the adsorption capacity of MB. It is obvious that NZVI-LBC nanocomposite provides extra-fast adsorption for MB at which the process reached equilibrium within 5 min. Furthermore, there was a huge increase in the adsorption capacity of MB onto NZVI-LBC from 495.65 to 1864.41 mg/g with rising the initial concentration of MB from 250 to 1000 mg/L, respectively. This behavior may be ascribed to the increment of the initial concentration of MB enhances its driving forces for surpassing the mass transfer resistance of MB molecules to reach NZVI-LBC surface [55, 56].
3.2.4 The influence of temperature
Figure 5D displays the process temperature effectiveness on the MB adsorption competence onto NZVI-LBC nanocomposite. It was monitored that the rising in temperature from 25 to 55 °C slightly ameliorated the adsorption capacity and removal (%) from 957.71 mg/g and 95.58% to 997.51 mg/g and 99.74%, respectively. This result could be assigned to the increase in the system temperature leading to an increase in the motion of MB molecules towards the surface of the nanocomposite.
3.3 Kinetic study
To fully comprehend the MB uptake mechanism onto NZVI-LBC nanocomposite, the kinetic data were investigated by pseudo 1st order and pseudo 2nd order. The non-linear expressions of these used kinetic models are represented in Eqs. 3 and 4 [57]. Moreover, root mean square error (RMSE) test and chi-square (χ2) test are calculated from Eqs. 5 and 6 [58, 59].
where k1 (min−1) and k2 (g.mg−1.min−1) denote the rate constant of pseudo 1st order and pseudo 2nd order, respectively. qt and qe are the adsorption capacity of MB at time t and equilibrium, respectively. qtm and qt are the obtained adsorption capacity by using the model and the experimental data, respectively. N is the number of experimental data and qtm and qt are the obtained adsorption capacity by using the model and the experimental data respectively.
The non-linear curves (Fig. 6A) and the reckoned kinetic parameters (Table1) clearly assert that the MB uptake process onto NZVI-LBC nanocomposite is well represented by pseudo 2nd order at which its R2 values are greater than those obtained from pseudo 1st order. In addition, χ2 and RMSE values of pseudo 2nd order are less than pseudo 1st order as well as the convergence between qexp and qcal from pseudo 2nd order, asserting the suitability of pseudo 2nd order to represent the MB adsorption process [60, 61].
3.4 Isotherm study
To describe the kind of interaction between MB and NZVI-LBC nanocomposite, the equilibrium data were thoroughly fitted utilizing non-linear Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and D-R Eqs. (7–11) [57].
where qmax denotes the maximum monolayer uptake and kL (L/mg) refers to Langmuir constant. n and kF (L/mg) symbolize Freundlich constants. R (8.314 J/mol k) is the gas constant and kT (L/g) and bT (KJ/mol) represent the equilibrium binding constant and Temkin constant, reprehensively. qs and ε refer to the saturation capacity and the Polanyi potential, representatively. KDR (mol2/K2J2) expresses the average adsorption free energy of the adsorbate.
Figure 6B exhibits the non-linear curves of Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and D-R models. It is evident from R2 values (Table 2) that the MB uptake onto NZVI-LBC nanocomposite obeys Freundlich model. Besides, the reckoned qmax under Langmuir model was 1959.94 mg/g. Moreover, the preference of the MB uptake process was proved via n value since it was greater than 2 [62]. Furthermore, the computed bonding energy (E = 1/(2KDR)1/2) was 15.81 kJ/mol, suggesting that the adsorption of MB onto NZVI-LBC occurred via chemical bonds [63]. Importantly, NZVI-LBC nanocomposite possesses an extremely high adsorption capacity compared to other reported adsorbents in previous studies (Table 3).
3.5 Selectivity study
Actually, the real wastewater contains a plethora of dyes that violently vie for the active sites of the adsorbent and they might interact with each other as well. Consequently, it was crucial to assess the adsorption performance of the as-fabricated NZVI-LBC nanocomposite towards MB in the presence of interfering anionic dye (CR) and cationic dye (CV) in binary and ternary dye systems (Fig. 7A). It was recorded that the removal efficiency of MB in a MB single system, MB-CR and MB-CV binary systems, and MB-CR-CV ternary system were 95.58%, 91.91%, 71.73%, and 87.72%, respectively. There is a slight diminution in the removal (%) of MB in the presence of CR, reflecting the selectivity of NZVI-LBC towards MB. However, the removal (%) of CR increased in a binary system (54.64%) and ternary system (49.95%) compared to a single one (21.02%) which is most likely due to the interaction of CR with MB, agreeing with the previous study by Bentahar and his coworker [75]. In the case of the MB-CV binary system, it was monitored a significant decline in the removal (%) of both MB and CV from 95.58 and 54.95% to 71.73 and 38.93%, respectively, which may be attributed to the fierce competition occurs between the two cationic dyes for the active sites of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite.
3.6 Reusability
Undoubtedly the high magnetic property of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite provides easy and perfect separation, so the recyclability test was executed on NZVI-LBC for seven adsorption/desorption cycles of MB to confirm the importance of its magnetic property (Fig. 7B). An insignificant diminution was recorded after the 7th cycle in the adsorption capacity and removal (%) from 957.71 mg/g and 95.58% to 755.52 mg/g to 75.01%, respectively. This finding infers the great renewability of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite that renders it a viable candidate for the diverse potential applications.
3.7 The postulated adsorption mechanism
XPS spectrum of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite after the MB adsorption (Fig. 7C) elucidates the distinguishing peaks to N and S of MB, asserting the successful uptake of MB onto NZVI-LBC. Furthermore, FTIR spectrum of NZVI-LBC after the adsorption process signifies the characteristic peaks of MB at 1124, 1227 and 3436 cm−1 which are assigned to C-H, C-N and N–H, respectively [76]. Owing to the ultra-high adsorption capacity of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite towards MB, it was a pivotal issue to speculate how NZVI-LBC grasps the MB molecules from their solution. The results ZP and the experimental study of the impact of pH on the adsorption process attest that the electrostatic interaction mechanism dominants the adsorption process of the cationic MB onto the negatively charged NZVI-LBC. Furthermore, the possibility to reduce MB to its colorless form (leucomethylene blue; LMB) via the transferred electrons from Fe0 is one more hypothesis mechanism that was suggested in previous studies involving the adsorption of cationic dyes onto NZVI-LBC composites [77, 78]. The reduction of MB is clarified in the following equations:
Besides, the complexation and flocculation may contribute to the adsorption of MB on NZVI-LBC since iron oxide/hydroxide might form a complex with MB and then may occur flocculation in the reaction solution as given in the following equation:
On the other hand, the structure nature of LBC vastly controls the MB uptake mechanism since the distributed H atoms on its surface may form H-bonds with N atoms of MB. In addition, n-π interaction via transfer the lone pairs of O atoms of LBC into π-orbital of MB aromatic ring [51, 79]. Figure 8 represents the possible mechanisms for the removal of MB onto NZVI-LBC.
4 Conclusion
This work reported a successful synthesis of magnetic lemon-derived biochar (NZVI-LBC) for the adsorptive removal of MB. Results clarified the superior efficacy of the magnetic synthesized NZVI-LBC as a low-cost adsorbent that was examined for the first time as an adsorbent for the adsorptive removal of MB. The adsorption process follows pseudo 2nd order kinetic model with a good fitting to both Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. The obtained NZVI-LBC is a highly effective adsorbent, much better than most reported biochars since the computed qmax from Langmuir model was 1959.94 mg/g within incredibly short equilibrium time (5 min). Additionally, the reusability tests confirmed NZVI-LBC is magnetically separable and has good reusability. The results of this work indicate that green synthesis of biochar with magnetic property is an effective and economical route for the production of highly efficient, low-cost, and reusable adsorbents for the treatment of dye-pollutant water to minimize their environmental risks. This propitious adsorption behavior of NZVI-LBC nanocomposite towards MB may be due to the possibility to occur several adsorption mechanisms including electrostatic interaction, complexation, and flocculation, H-bonds, and n-π interaction. In addition to the de-colorization mechanism via reducing MB to the colorless LMB, inspiring us with a new study involving determine the extent to which the de-colorization mechanism affects the removal process.
Data availability
The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article. Raw data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Eman Abd El-Monaem and Abdelazeem Eltaweil: Conceptualization, methodology, writing (review), formal analysis, and editing. Ahmed M. Omer: writing, review; editing. Gehan M. El-Subruiti and Mohy-Eldin: Review, editing, and supervision.
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Abd El-Monaem, E.M., Omer, A.M., El-Subruiti, G.M. et al. Zero-valent iron supported-lemon derived biochar for ultra-fast adsorption of methylene blue. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 14, 1697–1709 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02362-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02362-y