Adsorption capacity study of isolated cellulose and its nanocomposite for Safranine T dye in aqueous solutions

Synthetic dyes are widely used in textiles, paper, plastic, and other industries, which are toxic and harmful to the environment and humans. Adsorption is an efficient method to control wastewater. Cellulose is an abundant, renewable, and eco-friendly polymer produced by plants and trees. This study examined the possibility of using extracted free cellulose from corrugated cardboard (CC), cellulose composite with AgNPs of Myrtus communis L. extract (CAgM) and cellulose composite with AgNPs of banana peel extract (CAgB) for the removal of the cationic dyes, Safranine-T (ST), from aqueous solutions. The scope of this research included the characterization of sorbents using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), Ultraviolet–Visible Spectroscopy, determination of time contact, adsorbent mass, pH and temperature effect on the effectiveness of dye sorption using 50 mL of solution. The use of waste paper materials as sorbents was found not to pose any severe risk of aquatic environment contamination. Safranine-T (ST) sorption intensities were the highest at pH 8 and pH 10. The waste paper sorbents proved particularly effective in removing cationic dyes, like in the case of CC and CAgM, which had a sorption capacity that reached 89.16% and 84.22 %, respectively, and 84.04% towards CAgM. An adsorption isotherm study showed that the best equation used to describe the adsorption system is the Freundlich equation, with excellent correlation R2 > 0.9707.