High capacity and selective adsorption of Congo red by cellulose-based aerogel with mesoporous structure: Adsorption properties and statistical data simulation

• Published in: International journal of biological macromolecules 2024-02, Vol.259, p.129137-129137, Article 129137
• Main Authors: Qin, Wen-Hao, Li, Ming-Xing, Zhang, Yi-Bing, Li, Wen, Jia, Ran, Xiong, Yan-Shu, Lu, Hai-Qin, Zhang, Si-Yuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Cassava residue; Interaction mechanism
• ISSN: 0141-8130; 1879-0003
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.129137

Large quantities of organic dyes are discharged into the environment, causing serious damage to the ecosystem. Therefore, it is urgent to develop inexpensive adsorbents to remove organic dyes. A novel cellulose-based aerogel (MPPA) with 3D porous structure was prepared by using cassava residue (cellulose) as basic construction blocks, doping ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4) for magnetic separation, and applying polyethyleneimine (PEI) as functional material for highly efficient and selective capture of Congo red (CR). MPPA exhibited porous network structure, numerous active capture sites, nontoxicity, high hydrophilicity, and excellent thermal stability. MPPA showed superior adsorption property for CR, with an equilibrium adsorption capacity of 2018.14 mg/g, and still had an adsorption property of 1189.31 mg/g after five recycling procedures. In addition, MPPA has excellent selectivity for CR in four binary dye systems. The adsorption behavior of MPPA on CR was further explored using a multilayer adsorption model, EDR-IDR hybrid model and AOAS model. Electrostatic potential and independent gradient models were used to further verify the possible interaction between MPPA and CR molecules. In conclusion, MPPA is a promising adsorbent in the field of treating anionic dyes. [Display omitted] •A novel magnetic cassava pomace based aerogel was designed and synthesized.•MPPA can effectively removes Congo red from wastewater.•In vitro cytotoxicity tests were used to validate the safety of MPPA.•Density functional theory was applied to visualise the adsorption interactions.•The phenomenological models proposed new insights into sorption mass transfer.