MOF biochar composites for environmental protection and pollution control

Research studies on Metal Organic Frameworks (MOF) based composites and their potential applications in environmental engineering and pollution control have recently emerged. An attractive material to form MOF composites is biochar (BC); a low-cost, highly porous carbonaceous by-product of biomass pyrolysis. This paper presents a critical review on MOF-biochar composites, focusing on fabrication, characterisation, modification, and applications in environmental protection and pollution control. The adsorption mechanisms and influential parameters are systematically examined to develop an insight into interactions between MOF and biochar in remedial process. The adsorption capacity of composites is generally doubled compared to the standalone biochar, while MOFs maintain their crystallinity, even over multiple regeneration cycles, indicating the composites' long-term applicability and sustainability. These findings highlight the potential of MOF-biochar composites for environmental applications and identify key areas for further research to enhance their sustainability in environmental protection and green energy.

Zn-Al layered double hydroxide supported on waste cow dung-derived biochar as a highly efficient adsorbent for anionic dye removal from contaminated water

In this study, Zn-Al-SO42- LDH-functionalized biochar was fabricated using the co-precipitation method. The biochar was synthesized from waste cow dung using a low-temperature pyrolysis process (300 °C). The materials were fully characterized by TGA, FTIR, EDS, SEM, and XRD analysis. Then, a comparative study was performed to investigate the adsorption capacity of the materials against an anionic dye (i.e., methyl orange (MO)). The LDH-functionalized biochar demonstrated high adsorption capacity (400 mg/g in 120 min, at pH 5) compared to the raw biochar (212 mg/g in 120 min, at pH 5). The effect of various adsorption parameters (e.g., pH of the dye solution, temperature, initial concentration, adsorbent dosage, and contact time) was investigated. The adsorption of MO on LDH-functionalized biochar followed the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics, while the raw biochar followed the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics. The thermodynamic data indicated the endothermic nature of adsorption and an increase in the degree of randomness during adsorption. The enhanced adsorption capacity of the Zn-Al LDH-functionalized char was attributed to the synergistic effect of the surface adsorption into the porous biochar matrix, interlayer adsorption, and ion exchange capacity of the LDHs. Therefore, modification of waste cow dung-derived biochar with Zn-Al LDH can be a promising approach to fabricate a highly efficient adsorbent for toxic dyes from wastewater.

Microalgal and activated sludge processing for biodegradation of textile dyes

The textile industry contributes substantially to water pollution. To investigate bioremediation of dye-containing wastewater, the decolorization and biotransformation of three textile azo dyes, Red HE8B, Reactive Green 27, and Acid Blue 29, were considered using an integrated remediation approach involving the microalga Chlamydomonas mexicana and activated sludge (ACS). At a 5 mg L-1 dye concentration, using C. mexicana and ACS alone, decolorization percentages of 39%-64% and 52%-54%, respectively, were obtained. In comparison, decolorization percentages of 75%-79% were obtained using a consortium of C. mexicana and ACS. The same trend was observed for the decolorization of dyes at higher concentrations, but the potential for decolorization was low. The toxic azo dyes adversely affect the growth of microalgae and at high concentration 50 mg L-1 the growth rate inhibited to 50-60% as compared to the control. The natural textile wastewater was also treated with the same pattern and got promising results of decolorization (90%). Moreover, the removal of BOD (82%), COD (72%), TN (64%), and TP (63%) was observed with the consortium. The HPLC and GC-MS confirm dye biotransformation, revealing the emergence of new peaks and the generation of multiple metabolites with more superficial structures, such as N-hydroxy-aniline, naphthalene-1-ol, and sodium hydroxy naphthalene. This analysis demonstrates the potential of the C. mexicana and ACS consortium for efficient, eco-friendly bioremediation of textile azo dyes.

Effect of Shape and Size on Synthesized Triple (Co/Ni/Zn)-Doped α-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles on their Photocatalytic and Scavenging Properties

Co/Ni/Zn triple doped [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized via polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/Azadirachta indica (A. Indica) leaf extract coating. XRD, UV–Vis, SEM, TEM, EDS, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, VSM were used to characterize the synthesized NPs. XRD pattern revealed that the crystallite size of NPs ranges from 14[Formula: see text]nm to 21[Formula: see text]nm. Spherical NPs were found by SEM/TEM examination ranging from 16[Formula: see text]nm to 26[Formula: see text]nm of doped [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3 NPs. Analysis of the magnetic properties of [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3 NPs revealed antiferromagnetic characteristics, convergence between magnetization curves (MS), and switching field distribution dM/dh below an irreversible temperature of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K. Produced catalyst was used for the degradation of anionic azo dye Malachite green (MG) and Rhodamine blue (RhB) dyes under the influence of UV radiation. RhB and MG were reduced as a result of the doped [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3 catalyzing the conversion of dissolved O2 to hydroxyl radicals (OH) when exposed to visible light. This shows that the main active radical specifically engaged in the photo-catalytic breakdown of dyes is OH. The most effective photo-catalyst was determined by investigating the proposed doped [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3 NPs reusability over three cycles. The catalyst was retrieved and utilized three times after the reaction without suffering a substantial loss of catalytic activity. The plant-mediated [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3 NPs have significant antioxidant activity due to their higher phenolic content. These have a promising future with potential applications in health, aging, food preservation, cosmetics, agriculture and environmental protection.

Selective Adsorption of Direct Group Anionic Dyes on Layered Double Hydroxide-Chitosan Composites

In this research, the potential of M2+/Al intercalated chitosan has been evaluated and good ability to reduce dyes in an aqueous solution. M2+/Al intercalated chitosan was prepared by anion exchange method and coprecipitation in a nitrogen atmosphere. Selectivity adsorption was studied to maintain the ability of M2+/Al intercalated chitosan for particle size of direct dyes (direct green, direct red, and direct yellow). To evaluate the adsorption process, M2+/Al intercalated chitosan was conducted with kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic parameters. The kinetic data fitted well by pseudo-second order and isotherm fitted Langmuir isotherm with qmax obtained 294.11 and 322.58 mg/g for Zn/Al-chitosan and Mg/Al-chitosan, respectively. Copyright © 2023 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). 

Photocatalytic Degradation of Malachite Green by Layered Double Hydroxide Based Composites

Studies of LDH materials to be applied as photocatalyst for dye pollutant degradation have been developed. These interesting efforts are inseparable from the investigation of degradation performance and competitive synthetic methods. Composites based on Zn/Al and Mg/Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with ZnO and TiO2 were prepared by coprecipitation-impregnation method following by calcination at 300 °C to forms Zn/Al-ZnO, Mg/Al-ZnO, Zn/Al-TiO2, and Mg/Al-TiO2. Composites were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM and UV-DRS. Photodegradation of malachite green (MG) was carried out, after optimization of pH, catalyst loading and contact time in batch system under UV irradiation. XRD and spectroscopic data shows composites were successfully formed indicated by formation of both pristine materials. Degradation of malachite green showed that composites as photocatalyst have higher catalytic activity than pristine LDHs. LDH-ZnO composite have better activity, energy band gap and degradation reusability than LDH-TiO2. The Zn/Al-ZnO and Zn/Al-TiO2 composites degraded 97.1% and 96.3% MG, whereas the Mg/Al-ZnO and Mg/Al-TiO2 composites were able to degrade 99.8% and 98.6% MG, respectively. Copyright © 2022 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). 

The Utilization of Mg-Al/Cu as Selective Adsorbent for Cationic Synthetic Dyes

Mg-Al-LDH is a chemical compound produced through co-precipitation technique and modified with Cu(NO3)2.6H2O to form Mg-Al/Cu. However, the research on the capability of these compounds for adsorbing mixtures of cationic dyes as well as malachite green (MG), methylene blue (MB), and Rodhamine-B (Rh-B) has not been carried out. Therefore, this research aims to determine the performance of Mg-Al-LDH and Mg-Al/Cu for removing cationic dyes. The materials used were characterized by using XRD powder, FT-IR, and N2 adsorption desorption. The Adsorption process was conducted by batch system and several effects were investigated, such as kinetic parameter, isotherm, and the temperature condition. The stability feature of Mg-Al-LDH and Mg-Al/Cu was obtained from the regeneration process in the five cycles. The results presented that Mg-Al/Cu was effectively produced, which was indicated by the formation of layer at 10.792° (003), 22.94° (006), 35.53° (112), 55.78° (110), and  56.59° (116). Mg-Al-LDH and Mg-Al/Cu were found to adsorbed MG than the other cationic dyes with adsorption capacity of 68.996 mg/g and 104.167 mg/g, respectively. The unique properties of Mg-Al/Cu includes, structural stability towards the reuse of adsorbent subsequently for five times, without significant decrease of adsorption capacity. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).