Exploring Ficus religiosa inflorescence powder as an eco-friendly and sustainable solution for the removal of crystal...

This study investigates the potential of using Ficus religiosa inflorescence (peepal tree) as an efficient solution for removing crystal violet from simulated and industrial wastewater. Various analyses were conducted to understand the adsorbent's structure, including particle morphology, BET surface area, FTIR, and pH_ZPC. The adsorption process was studied under different physicochemical factors such as temperature, concentration, contact time, and pH. Results revealed rapid adsorption, with 94.15% removal efficiency within the first 15 min at neutral pH. The highest observed adsorption capacity was 198.03 mg g^-1, following pseudo-second-order kinetics (R² = 0.99), indicating chemisorption. The Langmuir model accurately described the adsorption pathway (R² = 0.99), showing monolayer adsorption. Thermodynamic analysis indicated an exothermic, feasible, and spontaneous process with increased entropy. The adsorbent could be easily regenerated using a 1:1 MeOH/H₂O mixture for up to three cycles, yielding up to 73.86%. Real-time application with industrial effluent containing crystal violet showed up to 44.70% adsorption. The experiments demonstrated reliability with evaluated standard deviations (0.017935-0.000577) and relative standard deviations (0.439-0.673%), confirming statistical reliability. In conclusion, it presents a sustainable and eco-friendly approach for removing crystal violet dye from diverse wastewater sources.