Sodium alginate hydrogel-encapsulated trans-anethole based polymer: Synthesis and applications as an eradicator of metals and dyes from wastewater

Clean and safe water resources are essential for environmental safety and human health. Hydrogels and biomass polymers have attracted considerable attention in recent years, considering their nontoxicity, controllable performance, and high adsorption capacity. The interpenetrating network described here is a combination of a biomass polymer and a hydrogel adsorbent was established, the biomass polymer microspheres were first prepared with the combination of biomass monomer trans-anethole and maleic anhydride copolymer. A simple, environmentally friendly, and facile method of incorporating biomass polymer into sodium alginate biopolymer was developed by introducing the cross-linking agents calcium chloride and glutaraldehyde into the biomass polymer. Furthermore, the biomass polymer sodium alginate hydrogel (BP@SA/H) was characterized by FTIR, XPS, SEM, and XRD. In order to test materials' performance, the removal of pollutants and the adsorption study were also investigated after and before adsorption toward metals and dyes in water. We examined the factors influencing the materials, adsorption capability, such as initial concentration, time, absorbent amount, and pH. Moreover, the maximum adsorption values for Pb⁺² and Cd⁺² were 734.9 and 722 mg/g. While the adsorption toward RhB dye are 745 mg/g. In addition, the adsorption results were investigated using kinetic and isothermal models, demonstrating that biomass polymer hydrogel adsorption is chemisorption. Therefore, the as-developed biomass polymer sodium alginate hydrogel (BP@SA/H) is an exceptional multifunctional material that can be used to remove hazardous pollutants from wastewater.