TX-100 adsorption from aqueous solution using modified graphene oxide; optimization by response surface methodology and one factor at a time techniques

Abstract

In this article, triton X-100 (TX-100) adsorption was evaluated by using of graphene oxide-saponin (GO-SA) nanocomposite as an adsorbent. GO was synthesized by the Hummer method and then modified by saponin to prepare GO-SA nanocomposite. The characteristics of GO-SA adsorbent were performed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform-infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The response surface methodology (RSM) using Design–Expert software and one factor at a time method (OFAT) were applied for optimization of pH of sample solution, amounts of adsorbent and contact time. Kinetic models are scrutinized and the outcomes depict the adsorption of TX-100 onto the GO-SA nanocomposite followed by the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Also, to evaluate the adsorption mechanism, Dubinin–Radushkevich (D-R), Langmuir, Temkin and Freundlich were appraised and the outcomes demonstrate that the adsorption of TX-100 governed by the Langmuir isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity of 179 $\mathrm{mg}\mathrm{ }{\mathrm{g}}^{-\mathrm{g}}.$ Finally, the proposed adsorbent was successfully applied for the removal of TX-100 in different water samples.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Graphene oxide-saponin nanocomposite
• Triton X-100
• RSM
• adsorption isotherms
• adsorption kinetics

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad for the financial support of this project through the grant number 50256.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

Not applicable.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ferdowsi University of Mashhad through the grant number 50256.