SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF IRISH POTATO PEELS POWDER-NANOSILICA COMPOSITE FOR THE DEGRADATION OF RHODAMINE BLUE AND DICLOFENAC

Abstract

In today's world, finding safe drinking water has become a major concern. Many contaminants, including dyes and pharmaceuticals, are discharged directly or indirectly into bodies of water without sufficient treatment, rendering the water unsafe for human consumption. To safeguard the environment and human health, harmful toxins must be removed from wastewater. Various technologies have been used to address this issue. Adsorption on activated carbons is a widespread technique in wastewater treatment, but the exorbitant cost of ordinary activated carbons limits its use. Several agricultural waste products are currently being used inefficiently and have the potential to be transformed into important adsorbents such as composites. Because of its nano-sized inorganic filler, nano-silica has exceptional characteristics such as large surface area, mesoporous structure, biocompatibility, versatile pore size, modifiability, and polymer hybridizability over common composites. Irish potato peel powder is a natural binder that works well in composite materials. Since most composite materials are poorly distributed, this study concentrated on utilizing Irish potato peel powder and nano-silica from rice husks to produce a composite of Irish potato peel powder and nano-silica. This study aimed to synthesize, characterize and make Irish potato peel powder/nano-silica composite in the degradation of rhodamine blue and diclofenac. Silica nanoparticles were mixed with Irish potato peel powder in the ratios 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 4:1, and 5:1, respectively. Glutaraldehyde was added to the mixture as a binder. The following functional groups was detected in the composite's Fourier Infrared spectrum: C=C, O-Si-O, and Si-OH, which corresponded to peaks at 1645.35 cm-1, 1104.29 cm-1, and 3439.23 cm-1, respectively, and are responsible for the adsorption of Rhodamine Blue and Diclofenac. The XRF analysis showed that silica accounted for a large proportion in the composite, which determined the mixing ratio of RHNS and IPPP (4:1). The composite surface area was 100.6328 m2/g, with a single point surface area of 97.4036 m2/g, according to BET-BJH surface characterization. The synthesized composite was amorphous in nature, as shown by the XRD pattern, which has a strong broad peak between 200 and 250 (2θ). The adsorption capacity of RB and DCF by the composite was optimal at pH 4 and 2, respectively, an initial concentration of 1 mg/L and 40 mg/L, respectively, an adsorbent dose of 0.1 g, and a 240 rpm stirring speed. The removal efficiency of the composite was 99.39% for DCF and 97.57% for RB. The rhodamine blue removal best fit the Freundlich isotherm in the used composite adsorbent with R2 = 0.996, while the DCF removal suited the Langmuir isotherm model the best with R2 = 0.901. The kinetic data were pseudo-second-order (R2 = 0.9989 for RB and 0.849 for DCF), which was more suitable for explaining the adsorption rate. Fineness, surface area, and vacancy concentration are all associated with better adsorption capacity.