Composite nanofibers membranes produced by solution blow spinning modified with CO2-activated sugarcane bagasse fly ash for efficient removal of water pollutants

Abstract The rapid growth of industrialization and changes of consumption patterns of population has increased the production and release of emerging pollutants in water resources, which can affect human health and generate severe environmental impacts. In order to tackle these problems, the development of efficient and low-cost adsorbents for water purification application becomes primordial. Here, polyamide 6 (PA6) nanofiber mats produced by solution blow spinning (SBS) was modified with sugarcane bagasse fly ash without (SBFA) and with activation (SBFAA) at 800 °C under CO2 atmosphere. The developed nanofiber mats were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, particle size distribution and zeta potential, dynamic mechanical analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Thermogravimetric (TGA). SBFA and SBFAA were used as a low cost adsorbent for removing dyes (used as a model) from water in batch tests, reaching the efficiencies of 45.68 mg g-1 and 186.46 mg g-1, respectively. The PA6 mats modified with the SBFA and SBFAA were used in fixed bed adsorption tests using the Bohart Adams model. In addition, the influence of ash conditioning in water and ethanol to modify adsorptive capability of nanofiber mats was investigated in fixed bed, revealing that ethanol conditioning increased adsorption efficiency in 30%, which was maintained for at least 14 cycles. The results demonstrate that nanofiber membranes produced by solution blow spinning which are surface-modified with sugarcane bagasse fly ash can be a sustainable alternative for designing highly efficient and low-cost adsorbents for removal of dyes and other contaminants from water resources.