Harnessing Hydroclathrus clathratus as a Greener Biosorbent for the removal of Reactive Red 11: a sustainable Eco-friendly approach

Rapid population growth and industrialization have significantly strained water resources, where textile industries are a major contributor to water pollution through the release of synthetic dyes and which pose significant environmental and health hazards due to their recalcitrant nature. The present study investigated the potential of Hydroclathrus clathratus as a biosorbent for removing Reactive Red 11 (RR11) from aqueous solution. Response Surface Methodology based on the Box-Behnken design was employed to optimize the process variables such as dye concentration (50-150mg/L), biosorbent concentration (100-900mg/L), pH (3-12) and incubation time (24-168hours) for effective decolorization. The optimized conditions for maximum RR11 decolorization (83%) were found to be 100 mg/L dye concentration, 500 mg/L biosorbent concentration, pH 8 and 96 h incubation time. Equilibrium studies revealed that the Freundlich isotherm best described the adsorption process, indicating multilayer adsorption. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption followed the pseudo second order kinetics, suggesting chemisorption as the rate limiting step. Thermodynamic analysis confirmed the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption process. Characterization techniques evidenced the interaction between H.clathratus and RR11. Furthermore, desorption and regeneration studies showed that the spent biosorbent could be effectively reused for three consecutive cycles using 0.1 M NaOH as the eluting agent. Phytotoxicity assessment of treated dye solution against Macrotyloma uniflorum seeds revealed that seedlings of the plant exhibited increased germination and reduced phytotoxicity. Thus, the findings of the present study highlight the potential of H.clathratus as an eco-friendly, cost effective alternative for textile dye removal, promoting sustainable wastewater management and environmental safety.