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Entrapment behaviours of trivalent and hexavalent chromium from aqueous medium using edible alkali-derived activated carbon of Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth)

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Abstract

The study examines the adsorption capabilities of an environmentally friendly activated carbon derived from a novel activating agent, i.e., an edible alkali prepared from black gram plant ash, for the removal of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions from an aqueous environment. The results of the systematic research show impressive removal efficiencies of 95.12% for Cr(III) ions and 99.6% for Cr(VI) ions. The kinetics and equilibrium data of the adsorption process confirm to the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Freundlich isotherm model. The thermodynamic analysis reveals the adsorption process as feasible and spontaneous across the temperature range of 298–313 K. The mechanism entails electrostatic attraction and adsorption of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) ions on oppositely charged surfaces and the participation of oxygen-containing functional groups on WHAC-BGA surface in the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). This study provides valuable insights for optimizing strategies to combat chromium contamination in water sources, offering a sustainable solution with the potential for real-world application.

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Date will be made available on request.

Abbreviations

WH :

Water hyacinth

WHAC-BGA :

Activated carbon of Water Hyacinth by using Black Gram Plant Ash as the activating agent

C 0 :

Initial concentration

C t :

Concentration at pre-specified time

q e :

Equilibrium adsorption capacity

V :

Volume of solution

M :

Mass of adsorbent

q t :

Adsorption capacity at any time

C e :

Equilibrium concentration

q 0 :

Maximum monolayer adsorption capacity

K L :

Langmuir constant

R L :

Dimensionless separation parameter

K f :

Freundlich constant

n f :

Freundlich constant

A T :

Equilibrium binding constant

b T :

Temkin constant

K DR :

Energy of biosorption

qm :

Maximum monolayer adsorption capacity

E :

Mean free energy

k 1 :

Pseudo-first order rate constant

k 2 :

Pseudo-second order rate constant

k p :

Intraparticle diffusion rate constant

k id :

Adsorption rate constant

K 0 :

Equilibrium constant

∆H 0 :

Standard change in enthalpy

∆S 0 :

Standard change in entropy

∆G 0 :

Standard change in Gibb’s free energy

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their sincere appreciation to the Director of the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India for the successful completion of the work. The authors would also like to express their gratitude to the Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Centre (SAIC), IASST for generously providing access to essential instrumental resources. Furthermore, we acknowledge the valuable assistance of CSIR-NEIST in conducting the X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, which greatly contributed to our research efforts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Resource Management and Environment Section, Life Science Division, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati, 781035, Assam, India

    Bhaswati Devi, Manisha Goswami & Arundhuti Devi

  2. Department of Chemistry, Gauhati University, Guwahati, 781014, Assam, India

    Bhaswati Devi

  3. Department of Environmental Science, Gauhati University, Guwahati, 781014, Assam, India

    Manisha Goswami

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  1. Bhaswati Devi
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  3. Arundhuti Devi
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Contributions

Bhaswati Devi: Conceptualization, investigation, visualization, writing, review and editing. Manisha Goswami: Investigation. Arundhuti Devi: Conceptualization, writing, review, editing and supervision.

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Correspondence to Arundhuti Devi.

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Devi, B., Goswami, M. & Devi, A. Entrapment behaviours of trivalent and hexavalent chromium from aqueous medium using edible alkali-derived activated carbon of Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth). Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 6025–6039 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-31545-x

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