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Tunable Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Fibers for Multivariate Heavy-Metal Adsorption: Optimization and Mechanistic
Gongming Luo1, Yuanbing Zhou1, Shuangquan Liao1
1A Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Tropical Island Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
Materials (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 29, 2025
Summary
Porous fly ash-based geopolymer (FAGP) composite fibers effectively remove heavy metals like lead from water. These sustainable FAGP-polyethersulfone fibers offer high adsorption capacity and are suitable for wastewater treatment.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Environmental Science
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Industrial by-products like fly ash are often underutilized.
- Effective removal of heavy metals from wastewater is crucial for environmental protection.
- Developing sustainable and scalable adsorbents is a key challenge in water treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To fabricate and optimize porous fly ash-based geopolymer (FAGP)-polyethersulfone (PES) composite fibers.
- To investigate the adsorption performance of these composite fibers for multiple heavy metal ions (Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Ni2+).
- To understand the adsorption mechanisms and structure-function relationships for wastewater treatment applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of FAGP-PES composite fibers with varying FAGP content (20-60 wt%) using the phase inversion method.
- Characterization of fiber morphology and mechanical properties using X-ray computed tomography and mechanical testing.
- Conducting batch adsorption experiments to evaluate removal efficiencies under diverse conditions (pH, temperature, time, dosage, concentration).
Main Results:
- The composite fiber with 60 wt% FAGP demonstrated high removal efficiency for all tested heavy metal ions, particularly Pb2+.
- Adsorption isotherms followed Freundlich and Redlich-Peterson models, indicating a mix of chemisorption and physisorption mechanisms.
- Optimized composite fibers exhibited superior adsorption capacity, handling, and scalability compared to conventional adsorbents.
Conclusions:
- Porous FAGP-PES composite fibers are a sustainable and effective adsorbent for multivariate heavy metal removal from aqueous solutions.
- The tunable FAGP loading allows for performance optimization, offering potential for industrial wastewater treatment.
- The study provides valuable insights into the design and application of geopolymer-based composite adsorbents for environmental remediation.
