Textile wastewaters (TW) exhibit low biodegradability rates due to their complex and recalcitrant nature. Treating TW requires a multi-pronged approach because single strategies result in poor removal efficiencies. However, combining physical, chemical, and biological treatments is operationally complex and often carries high implementation and maintenance costs. Composite materials made of catalytically active nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed and stabilized in biocompatible/biodegradable matrices can effectively act as heterogeneous catalysts in advanced oxidation processes thanks to the fibers' robust nature, and the transition metal oxides NPs catalytic properties in Fenton-like reactions.<br/>Typically, the biocomposite preparation involves forming iron oxide NPs directly on the surface of fique fibers. Here, we explore the influence of experimental parameters on the catalytic properties of the iron-cellulose nanobiocomposites towards color removal (CR) from standard solutions of indigo carmine (IC) and actual TW samples.<br/>The material's morphology and composition were tested using UV-Vis, XRD, and SEM. During iron oxide NPs formation, pH was the most influential experimental factor affecting the material's catalytic performance. With the starting synthetic conditions (pH ~10), CR reached 95% after 25 min reaction of a 100 ppm IC solution using 0.2 g of the nanocomposite. Under the improved synthetic conditions (pH ~5), we observed CR above 95% after 2 min reaction for 500 ppm IC solution.<br/>The optimized nanobiocomposite was tested for reusability using a 100 ppm IC solution, with CR above 90% in less than 10 minutes for 28 cycles. Commonly used dyes from the textile industry, like yellow F3R, red F3B, black B, and black WNN, were tested -together with actual wastewater samples- achieving up to 90% CR in 15 and 20 minutes, respectively. The material's functionality improved due to changes in the iron oxide structure. Reaction at pH 5 favored the formation of goethite, while pH ~10 resulted in magnetite. The optimized material can remove color from a 500 ppm IC solution in 2 min and from actual TW in 20 min. In contrast, the original composite required 25 and 120 minutes, respectively.

Improving the performance of iron oxide nanoparticles/cellulose nanobiocomposites for color removal from textile wastewater

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