Utilizing electrospun cellulose adsorption nanofilters derived from mangrove roots and polyacrylonitrile for desalination

Abstract In this study, we examined the desalination efficiency of electrospun nanofibers created from cellulose extracted from the roots of the mangrove Avicennia marina . The roots of these plants are full of nanofibers with a diameter of 20–100 nm, which are effective in reducing water salinity due to their functional groups, negative zeta potential, and high surface-to-volume ratio. We fabricated electrospun nanofibers from the extracted cellulose and polyacrylonitrile, characterizing them using techniques such as FE-SEM, TG/DTA, AFM, FT-IR, zeta potential measurements, and XRD analysis. We investigated how varying concentrations of polyacrylonitrile and mangrove root, along with electrospinning parameters, influenced the nanofibers’ properties. The nanofilter optimized for pH, temperature, and sodium ion concentration removed about 100 % of sodium ions from a 150 mg L −1 solution at pH 9 and 45 °C. These results highlight the nanofilter’s effectiveness in desalination, particularly in samples from the Plasjan River.