Synthesis and Characterization of Hydroxyapatite as a Potential Adsorbent for the Removal of Pollutants in Wastewater

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is promising adsorbent material for the treatment of contaminated liquid effluents due to its bioactivity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, eco-friendly and cost effectiveness. Water bodies are polluted daily as a result of increase in the activities of man due to global industrialization which poses significant environmental and health challenges, necessitating the development of effective and sustainable treatment strategies. This study is aimed at synthesizing HAp as a potential adsorbent material for the removal of pollutants from waste water via adsorption. Turkey bones was used as a precursor material for the biosynthesis of the hydroxyapatite. A comprehensive characterization analysis was employed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) to elucidate the morphological, structural and chemical properties of the synthesized adsorbent. The study revealed the microstructural characteristics of the novel adsorbent and the BET surface area was found to be 41.90 m2/g while the pore volume and pore diameter were 0.0189 cm3/g and 1.794 nm respectively. The XRD revealed the crystallinity of the adsorbent with XRF showing the dominance of calcium and phosphate and the FTIR spectrum showed the characteristics peaks, confirming the presence of the functional groups in the adsorbent which contributes to the electrostatic interactions. The study therefore recommends HAp as one of the adsorbents that will facilitate the effective removal of pollutants from waste water.