Carbon-Based Adsorbents from Naturally Available Bermuda Grasses: Removal of TDS and Arsenic Ions

In the present study, we have reported the synthesis of nano porous carbon material (GC) by the thermal treatment of the commonly available Bermuda grasses, and metal oxides doped bio-compatible polymer chitosan-GC based porous cross-linked composites (CHGCCZ) as adsorbent materials for the removal of total dissolved solids (TDS) and efficient removal of arsenic (As(V)) ions from aqueous medium, respectively. The synthesized adsorbents have been characterized by FTIR, PXRD, FESEM, TGA, and the systematic investigations have shown that the incorporation of GCs into cross-linked matrix makes them porous, more resistant to degradation, and suitable adsorption matrix for the toxic As(V) removal. The presence of As(V) ions is quantified by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) measurements. The amount of TDS and arsenic concentration was reduced to the minimum value of 103 ppm (average value similar to 119 ppm) from 414 ppm and 7.7 ppm from very high concentration of 10.15 ppm, respectively. The recyclability test has also been performed after regeneration of the CHGCCZ and the initial findings has been found to be promising. Therefore, we have systematically investigated the efficacy of TDS removal by GCs and As(V) adsorption properties of metal oxide doped cross-linked CHGCCZ composite from the aqueous system and demonstrated the regeneration process for CHGCCZ in our study.