Enhancing arsenic sequestration on ameliorated waste molasses nanoadsorbents using response surface methodology and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Arsenic contamination in water poses significant health risks.
• Developing cost-effective and efficient adsorbents for arsenic removal is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize a novel nanobiosorbent from waste molasses for arsenic adsorption.
• To optimize and evaluate the arsenic adsorption performance of the synthesized material.

Main Methods:

• Waste molasses were chemically modified via a solvothermal route to create iron oxide incorporated carbonaceous nanomaterial (IOCN).
• Material characterization included TEM, XRD, FTIR, AES, and BET analysis.
• Adsorption experiments were optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and further improved with an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model.

Main Results:

• The ANN model optimized conditions yielded a maximum arsenic adsorption efficiency of approximately 96%.
• Adsorption followed the Sips isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics, indicating a chemisorption mechanism.
• FTIR analysis confirmed direct coordination of arsenic to the IOCN surface.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized IOCN nanobiosorbent demonstrates high efficiency for arsenic removal.
• The facile synthesis from agro-industrial waste suggests potential for cost-effective commercial applications in water treatment.