Applied Chemical Engineering

Fabrication of a guar gum-based composite hydrogel for brilliant green dye adsorption

Haider M. Musa

Ministry of Education, General Directorate of Education of Babylon, Babylon, Iraq

Nadher D. Radia

Department of Chemistry, College of Education, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Qadisiyah, Iraq

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/ace.v8i3.5722

Keywords: Activated Carbon, Hydrogel; Brilliant Green dye; Guar Gum; Adsorption; Kinetic Models; Isotherm Models

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Abstract

Brilliant Green (BG), a triphenylmethane dye with high chemical stability, represents a significant source of environmental concern due to its recalcitrance to degradation and the difficulty of its removal using conventional industrial wastewater treatment methods. In response to these challenges, a novel composite hydrogel adsorbent, designated as Guar gum-grafted poly(Acrylic Acid-co-Sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate GG-g-poly (AAc-NaVBS)/AC, was developed. This was achieved through the graft copolymerization of acrylic acid (AAc) and Sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate (NaVBS) onto a natural guar gum (GG) backbone, coupled with the incorporation of activated carbon (AC) to enhance its surface properties and porosity. The structural and morphological properties of the hydrogel composite were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), in addition to determining its point of zero charge (pHpzc). The results revealed that the prepared material possesses a highly porous structure and active functional groups, which contributed to achieving a maximum adsorption capacity of 820.9 mg/g at temperature of 25 °C. The adsorption kinetics study indicated that the process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the equilibrium data showed a good fit with the Freundlich  isotherm model, indicating a multilayer adsorption process on a heterogeneous surface with moderate adsorbent-adsorbate interactions. Additionally, the hydrogel composite demonstrated excellent reusability over several adsorption-desorption cycles without significant deterioration in performance, supporting its potential for long-term industrial applications in water treatment. This study highlights the efficacy of integrating natural polymers with functional materials to develop eco-friendly and highly efficient adsorbents for the removal of complex organic pollutants from various aqueous systems.

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