Soumitra Ghorai

Enhanced Removal of Methylene Blue and Methyl Violet Dyes from Aqueous Solution Using a Nanocomposite of Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide Grafted Xanthan Gum and Incorporated Nanosilica

The synthesis and characterization of a novel nanocomposite is reported that was developed as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of toxic methylene blue (MB) and methyl violet (MV) from aqueous solution. The nanocomposite comprises hydrolyzed polyacrylamide grafted onto xanthan gum as well as incorporated nanosilica. The synthesis exploits the saponification of the grafted polyacrylamide and the in situ formation of nanoscale SiO2 by a sol-gel reaction, in which the biopolymer matrix promotes the silica polymerization and therefore acts as a novel template for nanosilica formation. The detailed investigation of the kinetics and the adsorption isotherms of MB and MV from aqueous solution showed that the dyes adsorb rapidly, in accordance with a pseudo-second-order kinetics and a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The entropy driven process was furthermore found to strongly depend on the point of zero charge (pzc) of the adsorbent. The remarkably high adsorption capacity of dyes on the nanocomposites (efficiency of MB removal, 99.4%; maximum specific removal Qmax, 497.5 mg g(-1); and efficiency of MV removal, 99.1%; Qmax, 378.8 mg g(-1)) is rationalized on the basis of H-bonding interactions as well as dipole-dipole and electrostatic interactions between anionic adsorbent and cationic dye molecules. Because of the excellent regeneration capacity the nanocomposites are considered interesting materials for the uptake of, for instance, toxic dyes from wastewater.

Novel biodegradable nanocomposite based on XG-g-PAM/SiO2: Application of an efficient adsorbent for Pb2+ ions from aqueous solution

This article highlights the development of a novel nanocomposite based on nanosilica filled modified natural polymer (i.e. xanthan gum grafted with polyacrylamide:XG-g-PAM) for removal of Pb(2+) ions from aqueous solution. The chemical, structural, textural, and rheological characteristics of the nanocomposite (XG-g-PAM/SiO(2)) revealed stronger interaction of silica nanoparticles with polymer matrix and showed maximum adsorption capacity (Q(max)=537.634 mg g(-1)) of Pb(2+) ion, which is significantly higher than other reported adsorbents. This developed novel material also finds potential application as an efficient adsorbent for the treatment of battery industry wastewater. The enhanced adsorption efficiency may be because of its higher hydrodynamic radius and hydrodynamic volume. The adsorption kinetic parameters were best described by pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption equilibrium data fitted well with Langmuir isotherm. The thermodynamic studies confirm that the adsorption is spontaneous and endothermic. Desorption studies affirmed the regenerative efficacy of loaded Pb(2+).

Effective removal of Congo red dye from aqueous solution using modified xanthan gum/silica hybrid nanocomposite as adsorbent

The aim of this work is to study the feasibility of XG-g-PAM/SiO2 nanocomposite towards its potential application as high performance adsorbent for removal of Congo red (CR) dye from aqueous solution. The surface area, average pore size and total pore volume of the developed nanocomposite has been determined. The efficiency of CR dye adsorption depends on various factors like pH, temperature of the solution, equilibrium time of adsorption, agitation speed, initial concentration of dye and adsorbent dosage. It has been observed that the nanocomposite is having excellent CR dye adsorption capacity (Q0=209.205 mg g(-1)), which is considerably high. The dye adsorption process is controlled by pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion kinetic models. The adsorption equilibrium data correlates well with Langmuir isotherm. Desorption study indicates the efficient regeneration ability of the dye loaded nanocomposite.

Flocculation properties of polyacrylamide grafted carboxymethyl guar gum (CMG-g-PAM) synthesised by conventional and microwave assisted method

A novel polymeric flocculant based on polyacrylamide grafted carboxymethyl guar gum (CMG-g-PAM) has been synthesised by grafting polyacrylamide chains onto CMG backbone using conventional redox grafting and microwave assisted grafting methods. Under optimum grafting conditions, 82% and 96% grafting efficiencies have been observed in case of conventional and microwave assisted methods respectively. The optimum sample has been characterized using viscometry, spectroscopic analysis, elemental analysis, molecular weight and radius of gyration determination. The flocculation characteristics of grafted and ungrafted polysaccharides have been evaluated in kaolin suspension, municipal sewage wastewater and decolourization efficiency of a dye solution (methylene blue). It is evident from results that CMG-g-PAM synthesised by microwave assisted grafting method is showing best flocculation characteristics.

Efficient removal of malachite green dye using biodegradable graft copolymer derived from amylopectin and poly(acrylic acid)

This article reports on the application of a high performance biodegradable adsorbent based on amylopectin and poly(acrylic acid) (AP-g-PAA) for removal of toxic malachite green dye (MG) from aqueous solution. The graft copolymer has been synthesized and characterized using various techniques including FTIR, GPC, SEM and XRD analyses. Biodegradation study suggests that the co-polymer is biodegradable in nature. The adsorbent shows excellent potential (Qmax, 352.11 mg g(-1); 99.05% of MG has been removed within 30 min) for removal of MG from aqueous solution. It has been observed that point to zero charge (pzc) of graft copolymer plays significant role in adsorption efficacy. The adsorption kinetics and isotherm follow pseudo-second order and Langmuir isotherm models, respectively. Thermodynamics parameters suggest that the process of dye uptake is spontaneous. Finally desorption study shows excellent regeneration efficiency of adsorbent.

Efficient and rapid adsorption characteristics of templating modified guar gum and silica nanocomposite toward removal of toxic reactive blue and Congo red dyes

The present study highlights the potentiality of sol-gel synthesized guar gum-graft-poly (acrylamide)/silica (g-GG/SiO2) hybrid nanocomposite toward the rapid removal of toxic reactive blue 4 (RB) and Congo red (CR) dyes from aqueous solution. Various physicochemical characterizations support the feasibility of the functionalized guar gum matrix as efficient template for the formation of homogeneous nanoscale silica particles. The composite demonstrates rapid and superior adsorption efficiency of RB (Qmax: 579.01 mg g(-1) within 40 min) and CR (Qmax: 233.24 mg g(-1) within 30 min) dyes from aqueous environment. Here, the pH driven adsorption process depends strongly on the ionic strength of the salt solution. The adsorption kinetics data predicts that pseudo second-order (surface adsorption) and intraparticle diffusion take place simultaneously. The adsorption equilibrium is in good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm, while the thermodynamics study confirms spontaneous nature of the adsorption process. Desorption study predicts the excellent regenerative efficacy of nanocomposite.

Rapid adsorptive removal of toxic Pb(2+) ion from aqueous solution using recyclable, biodegradable nanocomposite derived from templated partially hydrolyzed xanthan gum and nanosilica.

This work studied the application of a novel biodegradable nanocomposite based on partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide grafted xanthan gum and nanosilica (h-XG/SiO2) towards efficient and rapid removal of toxic Pb(2+) ions from aqueous environment. The uptake ability of Pb(2+) using h-XG/SiO2 has been studied in batch adsorption experiments with variation of adsorption parameters. The excellent removal rate (99.54% adsorption within 25min) and superior adsorption capacity (Qmax=1012.15mgg(-1)) of the composite material have been explained on the basis of synergistic and chelating effects of h-XG/SiO2 with Pb(2+) ion through electrostatic interactions. The kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamics studies reveal that Pb(2+) adsorb rapidly on nanocomposite surface, which is in agreement with pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir adsorption isotherm models. In consequence of excellent adsorption as well as regeneration characteristics of nanocomposite, it has been found to be a promising adsorbent towards removal of Pb(2+) ions from battery industry wastewater.

Modified amylopectin based flocculant for the treatment of synthetic effluent and industrial wastewaters

Herein, we report the application of an efficient polymeric flocculant based on amylopectin grafted with poly (acrylic acid) (g-AP) for the treatment of synthetic effluent as well as various industrial wastewaters. The flocculation characteristics of g-AP have been explored in different pH conditions using silica suspension by measurement of residual turbidity as well as floc size. Results suggest that in acidic pH, patching mechanism is predominating while at neutral and alkaline pH, bridging is the main mechanism. In addition, aggregation of particles and particle collision models confirm that bridging mechanism is the key mechanism at alkaline condition. Further, g-AP demonstrates excellent potential as flocculant for the treatment of paper effluent, textile wastewater and shows better flocculation performance than that of commercially available flocculant. Besides, the pilot scale study of mine processwater suggests excellent efficacy of g-AP as flocculant.