New insight into the Adsorptive Removal of Organic and Inorganic Pollutants from Aqueous set up with tailored cellulosic and polymer-based biomaterials: Modeling and Ecotoxicological assessment

Abstract

"The significance of water as a resource for the survival of humanity is incomparable. With the rapid advancement in various technologies, the demand for water usage has been augmented exponentially. From the industry domain to fulfilling the basic necessity for the people, water conservation with proper qualitative allocation has been at the forefront of all activities. While the swift developments in the technological industries have been a boon for appeasing the hefty consumer demand in the market, it leaves a deterrent impact on the environment. To eradicate the grave danger to the aquatic environment, the treatment of wastewater is crucial and imperative. The first study of the thesis work examines the efficiency of the removal of hexavalent chromium using physicochemically activated lignocellulosic biomass from Acacia auriculiformis (Fabaceae family). The treatment involved sulphuric acid activation followed by pyrolysis resulting in chemically modified activated carbon. Further, it was complexed with a chelating agent i.e. EDTA. Acid treatment and complexation with chelating agents improvised the biosorbent’s sorption capacity towards chromium species. Adsorption parameters like pH, adsorbent dosage, temperature, and initial metal concentration were optimised in the batch study. The optimised data were further equilibrated using detailed two-parameter and three-parameter isotherm models, kinetics, and thermodynamic models to determine the nature of the sorbent– sorbate interaction. In the next work cellulose, which is the major component of lignocellulose, was explored by converting it to nano size that further significantly enhances the specific surface area and minimises the intraparticle diffusion distance. Despite their ability to adsorb various pollutants, the challenge in scaling up the process lies in the agglomeration and disintegration of cellulosic material in the aqueous media. In the past decade, various studies have been reported to overcome these difficulties by using polymer matrices as support which provide high"