Loading coal-base mesoporous activated carbon into polymeric matrix of chitosan biopolymer for toxic cationic dye removal: optimization and mechanistic approach

• Published in: BIOMASS CONVERSION AND BIOREFINERY
• Main Authors: Musa, Salis A.; Deris, Raja Razuan Raja; Wu, Ruihong; Alothman, Zeid A.; Jawad, Ali H.
• Format: Article; Early Access
• Language: English
• Published: SPRINGER HEIDELBERG 2025
• Subjects: Energy & Fuels; Engineering
• Online Access: https://www-webofscience-com.uitm.idm.oclc.org/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001405536900001
• ISSN: 2190-6815; 2190-6823
• DOI: 10.1007/s13399-025-06509-5

This study altered the chitosan (CS) biopolymer with high surface area Malaysian low-rank coal-activated carbon (CAC) to develop a new adsorbent of CS/CAC to eliminate MV dye. The main features of CS/CAC were examined by FTIR, BET, SEM, EDX, and pHpzc analysis. The RSM-BBD was employed to examine the influence of the adsorptive removal factors for MV dye by CS/CAC. The variables consist of (a) CS/CAC dosage (0.02-0.1 g/100 mL), (b) pH (4-10), and (c) contact time (20-180 min). The ANOVA results show that significant interactions of the adsorption key parameters were observed between AB, AC, and BC. Thus, the process of MV adsorption onto the CS/CAC surface was well presented by the pseudo-second-order kinetics framework and the Freundlich isotherm design. The qmax of CS/CAC is 88.9 mg/g at 25 degrees C. Thus, several ways can explain the MV dye adsorption onto the CS/CAC structure. These include n-pi interaction, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic attraction, pi-pi interaction, and pore filling. Hence, this research indicates that CS/CAC can serve as a promising composite biosorbent for eliminating toxic water contaminants such as MV dye.