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    Nitro-oxidized carboxycellulose nanofibers from moringa plant: effective bioadsorbent for mercury removal

    Year: 2021

    Journal: Cellulose, Volume 28, SEP, page 8611–8628

    Authors: Chen, Hui; Sharma, Sunil K.; Sharma, Priyanka R.; Chi, Kai; Fung, Eric; Aubrecht, Katherine; Keroletswe, Ngonye; Chigome, Samuel; Hsiao, Benjamin S.

    Organizations: National Science Foundation [DMR-1808690]

    Keywords: Nitro-oxidization; Cellulose nanofibers; Mercury removal; Moringa; Adsorption; Mineralization

    Mercury contamination in drinking water is a worldwide problem due to its severely harming effects on the human body. A nanostructured natural bioadsorbent, carboxycellulose nanofiber extracted from raw moringa plant using the nitro-oxidation method (termed NOCNF), capable of effectively remediating this problem has been demonstrated. Nitro-oxidation is a simple approach that can extract carboxylated nanocellulose directly from raw biomass. In this study, the produced NOCNF contained a large density of carboxylate groups on the cellulose surface (0.97 mmol/g), capable of removing Hg2+ ions by simultaneous electrostatic-interactions and mineralization processes. Using the Langmuir analysis, the adsorption results indicated that the highest Hg2+ removal capacity of this NOCNF was 257.07 mg/g, which is higher than most of the reported values. The interactions between Hg2+ and NOCNF were further characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), transmission electron microscopy with electron diffraction and wide-angle X-ray diffraction methods, suggesting the existence of two distinct removal mechanisms: predominant adsorption at low Hg(2+ )concentrations (< 250 ppm) and predominant mineralization at high Hg2+ concentrations (> 1000 ppm). The applications of NOCNF were illustrated in both suspension form, as an adsorbent/coagulant, and dry powder form using filtration column. The results indicated that NOCNF in suspension exhibited a higher maximum removal efficiency of 81.6% as compared to the dry state of 74.3%. This work demonstrated the feasibility of extracting nanostructured adsorbents from biomass feedstocks to tackle the Hg2+ contamination problem in drinking water. [GRAPHICS] .
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