Optimization and application of -derived mesoporous hydrogel beads for selective adsorption of potentially toxic elements from aqueous environments.

Hydrogel beads were constructed using sodium alginate (SA) and banana pith powder (BPP). The ability of beads to adsorb Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb) and Nickel (Ni) was examined using SA-BPP ratios (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:0 and 0:1). BET, FTIR, SEM-EDS, TGA and ZP were used to analyse the composite structural characteristics. BET surface area of SA-BPP (1:5) is found to be 28.308 m/g. The impacts of adsorbent blend ratio, dosage, adsorption contact time, pH, and temperature were evaluated. The efficiency was attained at SA-BPP (1:5), 0.3 g, 180 min, pH 6 and 35°C, with adsorption rates of 83.38% for Cu, 77% for Pb and 94.7% for Ni. The pseudo-first-order equation displayed good adsorption mechanism using ( = 0.993, 0.998 and 0.994) for Cu, Pb and Ni. The Freundlich adsorption isotherm fits perfectly for the adsorption process of SA-BPP (1:5) ( = 0.967) for Pb and Langmuir ( = 0.979 and 0.983) for Cu and Ni. The thermodynamic analysis shows that the adsorption process is endothermic. The removal efficiency was determined by optimizing the theoretical adsorption experiments through the Box-Behnken Design (BBD). Cumulatively, the Cu, Pb and Ni ions have an electrostatic nature that facilitates their easier acceptance of the SA-BPP (1:5) adsorbent electrons. After five cycles, a maximal removal effectiveness of 75% is achieved, which concludes a long-lasting adsorbent for industrial wastewater.