Bioinspired modified nanocellulose adsorbent for enhanced boron recovery from aqueous media: Optimization, kinetics, thermodynamics and reusability study

Abstract In this current study, platelet-shaped gels of amino modified nanocellulose (A-NCC) were facilely prepared and applied for the enhanced recovery of boron from aqueous media. The gels were characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, BET, TGA and the results revealed good thermal as well as mechanical stability. Optimization by Taguchi design model was further applied to investigate the significance of input adsorption factors influencing boron recovery from aqueous phase. Under optimized conditions, 87.38% (≈120.9 mg boron/g of A-NCC) boron recovery was achieved at pH 7. Kinetic evaluations determined the pseudo 2nd-order model (R 2  = 0.997) to best describe the adsorption process mainly via intraparticle diffusion. Thermodynamic studies confirmed the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. In addition, reusability capacity of the adsorbent proved significant for at least four consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles with minimum recovery efficiency loss.