Remediation of Vanadium (V) and Chromium (III) Ions from Aqueous Media by Modified Nanocellulose Obtained from Coconut Coir

Abstract

In this article, we describe a novel method for the modification of nanocellulose (MNC) produced from coconut coir (a bio-waste) by acetylization applied to the removal of vanadium (V) and chromium (III) metal ions from an aqueous phase in a batch study. The structure of the MNC formed was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. The adsorptive capacity of MNC was enhanced upon modification, achieving 93.6% removal for V V and 84.6% for Cr III at pH 5 within 30 min. The sorption data followed the Langmuir isotherm model (Q_max V V; 32.88 and Cr III; 114 mg g⁻¹) with the fast adsorption rate following the pseudo-first-order model (k₁ V V; 0.06 and Cr III 0.073 min⁻¹, respectively). Thus, the MNC from coconut coir very much displayed the desired potential as a sorbent for the removal of these toxic pollutants from wastewater. The sorbent has a promising capability owing to its high sorption capacity which can be used at the industrial scale.

Keywords:

• adsorption
• coconut coir
• heavy metal ions
• nanocellulose