Removal of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution using nanocellulose magnetite composites

ABSTRACT 1. Sources of water pollution, 2. NC Fabrication, 3. Characterization, and 4. Adsorption. Removing colored dyes from industrial effluents has become a major emphasis in wastewater remediation. The primary objective of this study was to remove methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solution using magnetite-impregnated nanocellulose (MNC) composite prepared from khat stems. The MNC was synthesized via the coprecipitation method, mixing nanocellulose (NC) with iron oxides (FeCl2·4H2O and FeCl3·6H2O) in an alkaline solution. The synthesized MNC was characterized using differential scanning calorimetry for phase transitions, X-ray diffraction for crystallite size, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for functional groups, scanning electron microscopy for morphological features and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller for surface area measurements. The adsorption mechanisms were best described by the Langmuir isotherm model, demonstrating the maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) of 102.35 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics behavior followed the pseudo-second-order model and the MNC showed excellent re-usability for MB dye removal from aqueous solution.