posted on 2023-10-13, 09:03authored byEmilly
C. Silva, Victória
R. Soares, Andressa B. Nörnberg, André R. Fajardo
Water and wastewater treatment face significant challenges
in removing
organic contaminants, and the search for efficient processes and materials
is crucial to reducing this issue. Herein, the design and manufacturing
of 3D-printed composite hydrogels using a combination of alginate
and rice husk biochar was proposed. These composite hydrogels were
evaluated as adsorbents for removing ibuprofen (IBU) and methylene
blue (MB) from tap water. Various characterization techniques, including
FTIR, XRD, SEM, and BET analyses, confirmed the successful formation
of the composite hydrogels. Also, the properties of the composite
hydrogels, such as total porosity, cross-linking density, and swelling,
were found to vary with the biochar content in the composite. Batch
experiments demonstrated that the hydrogel containing 10% w/w biochar
(Alg/Biochar10) has significant adsorption capacities for IBU (111.4
mg/g) and MB (214.6 mg/g). These values represented substantial increases
of 48% (IBU) and 58% (MB) compared to the conventional hydrogel without
biochar, highlighting the enhanced performance achieved by incorporating
biochar into the composite. The adsorption kinetics of both IBU and
MB followed the pseudo-first-order model, while the Freundlich isotherm
model provided insights into the adsorption mechanism. Notably, the
adsorption of MB on the composite hydrogel was particularly favorable
due to electrostatic interactions between the adsorbent and the adsorbate.
Furthermore, the composite hydrogel exhibited recyclability and reusability,
as demonstrated through 20 reuse cycles, indicating its stability
and practical applicability. In summary, the original 3D-printed composite
hydrogels manufactured with the alginate/rice husk biochar ink showed
great potential as adsorbent materials for organic removal from water
and wastewater.