Development of self-assembled nanocrystalline cellulose as a promising practical adsorbent for methylene blue removal

Kok Bing Tan; Alavy Kifait Reza; Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah; Bahman Amini Horri; Babak Salamatinia

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.07.006

Development of self-assembled nanocrystalline cellulose as a promising practical adsorbent for methylene blue removal

Carbohydr Polym. 2018 Nov 1:199:92-101. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.07.006. Epub 2018 Jul 5.

Authors

Kok Bing Tan¹, Alavy Kifait Reza², Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah³, Bahman Amini Horri⁴, Babak Salamatinia⁵

Affiliations

¹ Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia; Centre of Pre-U Studies, HELP College of Arts and Technology, Jalan Metro Pudu, Fraser Business Park, 55100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia; Research and Development Cell, BangladeshKnitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA), 13/A Sonargaon Road, Banglamotor, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
³ School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300, Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia.
⁴ Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Chemical & Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK.
⁵ Chemical Engineering Discipline, School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 47500, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia. Electronic address: babak.salamatinia@monash.edu.

PMID: 30143178
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.07.006

Abstract

This study is focused on nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) flakes for methylene blue (MB) removal via adsorption. NCC flakes exhibit a high adsorption capacity (188.7 mg/g fixed at 0.7 g/L adsorbent dosage, 25 °C and pH 6) compared to other nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotube and other cellulosic materials, such as coffee husks. Unlike NCC powder, it was observed that NCC flakes can be easily separated from wastewater containing MB. Further adsorption studies were conducted on NCC flakes, and it was found that 0.7 g/L was the optimum adsorbent dosage, which fitted well with the Langmuir Isotherm. The mean free energy value from Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm was less than 8 kJ/mol. ΔG_o values at different temperatures were within the -20 kJ/mol to 0 kJ/mol range. In conclusion, NCC flakes is a promising and practical 'green' nanomaterial that can be further developed for industrial applications.

Keywords: Adsorption; Nano crystalline cellulose; Promising green adsorbent; Self assembly; Separation.