Abalone shell-based magnetic macroporous hydroxyapatite microspheres with good reusability for efficient dye adsorption

Azo dye methyl orange (MO) and shell rotting cause great environmental pollution. Most of the common dye adsorbents are difficult to produce, not environmentally friendly and it is always difficult to utilize the shell resources effectively. In this study, shell-based economical and environmentally friendly magnetic hydroxyapatite microsphere adsorbents (Fe₃O₄ @SiO₂/HAP) were developed for the removal of MO from simulated wastewater by sol-gel and hydrothermal synthesis methods. The effects of solution pH, initial concentration, adsorption time and system temperature on the adsorption effect were investigated, and the repeat recovery performance was explored. The equilibrium adsorption data follow the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic curves, and the analysis indicates that the adsorption process is spontaneously exothermic. The adsorption capacities of MO were up to 94.48% and 88.94%, under the acidic environment of pH = 4, respectively, and had good recycling performance. The results provide a high-value utilization pathway for waste shell resources and focus on the removal of azo dyes. This is expected to provide new development ideas for the environmental hazards caused by acid dye wastewater discharged into rivers and oceans, as well as the problems of soil pollution and resource waste caused by weathering and corrosion of shells.