چكيده به لاتين
Ammonium pollution in water resources poses significant environmental problems due to its adverse effects on aquatic life and water quality. This study investigates the adsorption capacity of sugarcane bagasse biochar, xanthan gum-based hydrogel, and their composite for the removal of ammonium from aqueous medium. The primary objective of this study is to examine the influence of various environmental conditions (contact time, pH, adsorbent dosage, and initial concentration) on the adsorption capacity and efficiency of the xanthan-biochar hydrogel composite adsorbent and to evaluate its structural and functional properties. To investigate the surface and structural characteristics of the synthesized adsorbents, various analyses such as BET, FESEM, EDS, Mapping, and FTIR were employed. Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin adsorption isotherms were used to describe the adsorption process, with the Freundlich isotherm providing the best fit for the composite adsorbent. Additionally, the adsorption kinetics were investigated using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intra-particle diffusion models. Kinetic studies revealed that the pseudo-second-order model best describes the ammonium adsorption onto biochar. The results demonstrated that the maximum adsorption capacities of ammonium by biochar, hydrogel, and the synthesized composite were 7.981, 27.32, and 35.088 mg/g, respectively. The synthesis of the hydrogel-biochar composite exhibited a superior adsorption capacity compared to the individual components, clearly demonstrating the synergistic effect of the porous structure of biochar and the swelling properties of the hydrogel. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirmed the interaction of ammonium ions with functional groups present on the adsorbent surface. The superior performance of the composite adsorbent in terms of adsorption capacity indicates its high potential for large-scale applications in water treatment processes.
