Polypyrrole-sodium alginate nanocomposites for enhanced removal of toxic organic and metal pollutants from wastewater

The acute toxicity possess by the organic dyes and heavy metals in wastewater is a threat to environment along with human health. Because of this, we fabricate and characterize polypyrrole-sodium alginate (Ppy-SA) nanocomposite a novel biomaterial to adsorb organic dyes cationic and anionic namely methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) along with heavy metals for instance Cr (VI) and Hg (II) from aqueous solution. The outcome of various parameters like initial dye concentration, pH, contact time, temperature, and adsorbent doses on adsorption was studied. Analysis of kinetics and adsorption isotherm revealed that it followed Langmuir adsorption isotherm and pseudo second order kinetic model. Based on the optimal condition (pH- 6.1,volume- 50 mL, adsorbent mass-80 mg and room temperature) the maximum adsorption capacities of this adsorbent towards dyes (MO: 222.22 mg g−1, MB: 196.08 mg g−1) and heavy metals (Cr (VI):181.82 mg g− 1, Hg (II): 123.46 mg g− 1) are found to be greater compared to other reported polymer-based adsorbents. Overall, this work reveals that the resultant (Ppy-SA) nanocomposite is a potential candidate for adsorption of harmful heavy metal ions and organic dyes from wastewater.