article · International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Access to clean water is increasingly threatened by pollutant contamination. To address this challenge, a new hydrogel nanocomposite adsorbent was developed using xanthan gum and graphene oxide combined through free radical polymerisation. The material was designed specifically to extract methylene blue dye from water. Laboratory evaluations confirmed that incorporating graphene oxide into the polymer network improved the baseline properties of the hydrogel and enhanced its dye removal performance. Testing demonstrated that the nanocomposite achieved a high maximum adsorption capacity within one hour at neutral conditions. The material followed pseudo-second-order kinetic behaviour and maintained strong performance across five consecutive cycles of reuse. Further analysis showed that electrostatic attraction between the adsorbent surface and the dye molecules represents the primary mechanism driving the removal process.
Industrial dyes like methylene blue frequently contaminate water sources, creating serious environmental and public health concerns. Developing reusable, highly absorbent materials from natural polymers like xanthan gum offers a practical way to strip hazardous pollutants from industrial effluent, supporting cleaner waterways and safer water supplies.
This technology could enable more efficient wastewater treatment solutions for textile manufacturers and water utilities needing to strip synthetic dyes from process effluent. The research appears to be early stage and laboratory tested, having demonstrated high adsorption capacity and five-cycle reusability in controlled batch experiments, but pilot-scale performance and continuous-flow operational viability are not addressed.
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The demand for clean water has become a worldwide problem because of the pollutants' excessive and inappropriate use. In this regard, a new hydrogel nanocomposite adsorbent was fabricated from xanthan gum and graphene oxide via free radical polymerization for methylene blue (MB) dye removal. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized hydrogel nanocomposite were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The properties of the bare hydrogel and the adsorption of MB dye in an aqueous solution were enhanced by adding graphene oxide to the hydrogel matrix. The batch adsorption experiment revealed a maximum adsorption capacity of 1008 mg/g for the prepared hydrogel nanocomposite, using 250 mg/L of MB dye at pH 7 over the course of an hour. The findings of the adsorption kinetics model suggested that the order of the adsorption process of the prepared hydrogel nanocomposite is fitted well with pseudo-second-order kinetics. The regeneration study demonstrated excellent recyclability for the synthesized nanocomposite across five successive reusable cycles. The findings from the point of zero charge (pzc) and FTIR investigations indicate that electrostatic attraction is the primary force between the adsorbent and the dye molecules.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.141015
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