Efficient removal of direct dyes by SA-Er biopolymer gel spheres: Equilibrium isotherms, kinetics and regeneration performance study.

Biomass-based adsorbent materials are characterized by their low cost, environmental friendliness, and ease of design and operation. In this study, biomass-based hydrogel microspheres erbium alginate (SA/Er) with high stability and adsorption properties were prepared by a one-step synthesis method. The prepared materials were characterized and analyzed by SEM-EDS, XRD, TGA, FT-IR, UV-Vis, BET-BJH and XPS, and the adsorption performance of SA/Er was investigated for high concentrations of azo dyes in water. The results showed that the adsorption performance of SA/Er on the azo dyes of direct violet N (DV 1) and direct dark green NB (DG 6) with concentrations of 850 mg/L and 1100 mg/L under the optimal conditions was very high, and the adsorption amount could be up to 692 mg/g and 864 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption process was in accordance with the quasi-secondary kinetic model, which was accomplished by physical and chemical adsorption; the Langmuir isothermal model was able to better respond to the adsorption equilibrium, and the adsorption was dominated by the adsorption of surface monolayers; after seven desorption cycles, the removal of both azo dyes by the adsorbent material could reach >79.7 %. Combined with the results of FT-IR, UV-vis and XPS analysis before and after the adsorption, it was revealed that the adsorption of SA/Er with the dye molecules mainly consisted of hydrogen bonding, electrostatic adsorption and surface complexation, which resulted in the significant adsorption effect on the two azo dyes, and the above results can provide a reference for the treatment of dye wastewater.