Efficient removal of sertraline hydrochloride from wastewater using banana peels functionalized: performance...

The presence of sertraline hydrochloride (SER) has been detected in water bodies and wastewater, which encourages the search for alternative treatments for its control and removal. Agro-industrial residues are considered efficient adsorbents and functionalization with magnetic nanoparticles improve the adsorptive properties of these materials, in addition to facilitating their separation from a fluid by an external magnetic field. Thus, this study developed and characterized a new material via the functionalization of the banana peel with iron oxide nanoparticles (BAN_Func) for the adsorption of SER in batch experiments. Physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques indicated that the BAN_Func functionalization method was effective and improved the adsorption capacity (0.68 and 39.96 mg g^-1 for BAN_Pure and BAN_Func, respectively). The adsorption studies revealed a maximum adsorptive capacity of 142.85 mg g^-1 at 240 min and 318 K. Furthermore, the process presented spontaneous and endothermic behaviour, with a better fit to the pseudo-first-order and Langmuir models for the kinetic and isothermal, respectively. The reuse of the biosorbent was effective for five cycles, and even in the 3rd cycle, the adsorbent showed more than 80% SER removal. The adsorption process can be explained by hydrogen bonds and π-interactions. In the synthetic mixture treatment, the biosorbent demonstrated a satisfactory removal rate, of 86.91%, and individual removals of 83.23%, 89.36% and 88.15% for SER, safranine orange and chloroquine, respectively. Therefore, BAN_Func is a promising material for large-scale applications, considering its sustainable character and high treatment efficiency.