Functionalized cellulose nanocrystals as a novel adsorption material for removal of boron from water

Abstract

This study aims to prepare a novel adsorbent containing cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) isolated from date pits (DP) and ionic liquid (IL). The prepared composite of CNC and IL was then loaded onto the DP to prepare IL-CNC@DP adsorbent. The boron remediation capability was then investigated using the prepared adsorbent and compared to that of DP. The results showed the superior performance of IL-CNC@DP as compared to DP. The maximum adsorption capacity of 97 mg/g and 69 mg/g was obtained with IL-CNC@DP and DP, respectively. This can be attributed to the high surface area of 4.254 m2/g for IL-CNC@DP as compared to 2.126 m2/g for DP. The effect of pH, temperature, and initial boron concentration on adsorption was also studied. It was noticed that the % removal of boron from water increased with pH and reached its maximum of around 97% at pH 6. On the other hand, there was no effect of temperature (25 °C, 35 °C, and 45 °C) on adsorption capacity noted for both adsorbents. The results also indicated that the adsorption of boron from water by the prepared adsorbent favors the Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm model.