Kouniba Salma, Zourif Ali, Aqdim Sara, Boudad Lahcen, Taibi M 'Hamed, Bouari Abdeslam El, El Guendouzi Mohamed
Laboratory of Physical-Chemistry, Material & Catalysis LCPMC, Hassan II University, Faculty of Sciences Ben M'Sick, Casablanca, Morocco.
Engineering Laboratory of Organometallic, Molecular Materials, Environment, and Innovative Pedagogy, Faculty of Science, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, 3000, Fez, Morocco.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2025 May;32(25):15111-15135. doi: 10.1007/s11356-025-36588-w. Epub 2025 Jun 4.
This research investigates the potential of capers as a natural coagulant for removing metal contaminants and turbidity from wastewater. The physicochemical properties of caper powder were analyzed using several advanced techniques: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, zeta potential measurements, and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. A Box-Behnken experimental design was used to assess the impact of caper powder dosage, granulation, and initial pH on pollutant removal, with optimal conditions determined by response surface methodology. Caper powder demonstrated remarkable efficiency in pollutant removal, reaching maximum removal efficiencies of 90.05% for zinc, 99.90% for copper, and 98.12% for turbidity under optimized conditions, which exceed many previously studied natural coagulants, which typically achieve 60-80% metal removal efficiency. The proposed mechanism involves complexation, electrostatic interactions, surface adsorption, and van der Waals forces. In addition, durability tests indicated the sustained effectiveness of caper powder over successive applications. This study also explores using the metal-rich waste material produced during the treatment process to make glass. The successful synthesis of sodium borate glass has been achieved, and the study has examined how the generated sludge influences its thermal behavior, density, morphology, structure, optical properties, and dielectric characteristics. This research demonstrates that caper powder is an effective natural material for water treatment and highlights the importance of reusing waste materials from the treatment process, turning them into valuable products.
本研究调查了刺山柑作为一种天然凝聚剂用于去除废水中金属污染物和浊度的潜力。使用了几种先进技术分析刺山柑粉末的物理化学性质：傅里叶变换红外光谱、X射线衍射、结合能量色散X射线分析的扫描电子显微镜、zeta电位测量和X射线荧光光谱法。采用Box-Behnken实验设计来评估刺山柑粉末用量、颗粒度和初始pH对污染物去除的影响，并通过响应面法确定最佳条件。刺山柑粉末在污染物去除方面表现出显著效率，在优化条件下，锌的最大去除效率达到90.05%，铜的最大去除效率达到99.90%，浊度的最大去除效率达到98.12%，超过了许多先前研究的天然凝聚剂，这些天然凝聚剂通常实现60-80%的金属去除效率。所提出的机制涉及络合、静电相互作用、表面吸附和范德华力。此外，耐久性测试表明刺山柑粉末在连续应用中具有持续有效性。本研究还探索了利用处理过程中产生的富含金属的废料来制造玻璃。已成功合成了硼酸钠玻璃，并且该研究考察了产生的污泥如何影响其热行为、密度、形态、结构、光学性质和介电特性。本研究表明刺山柑粉末是一种有效的水处理天然材料，并突出了将处理过程中的废料再利用转化为有价值产品的重要性。
