Date palm fiber agro-waste biomass for efficient removal of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol from aqueous solution: Characterization, Kinetics, Isotherms studies and Cost-effective analysis

This study proposes using date palm biomass to remove emerging industrial contaminants, such as 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) from water, promoting sustainable waste utilization and a more cost-effective technology. To investigate the potential of using raw date palm fiber and Triethylamine-modified date palm fibers (RDPF and TEA–MDPF) for 2,4,6-TCP removal in batch adsorption experiments. The residual concentration of 2,4,6-TCP in the effluents was examined using UV-visible spectroscopy. The structural and chemical composition of the raw and modified biomass materials was determined using various techniques, including BET, FTIR, Elemental analyzer (CHN), Particle size analysis, FESEM-EDX, and TGA analysis. The optimal pH for the highest 2,4,6-TCP uptake capacity in batch equilibrium adsorption studies was found to be 2.0 for RDPF and 6.0 for TEA-MDPF biomass. The sorption kinetics of 2,4,6-TCP onto both adsorbents was excellent, designated by the pseudo-second-order (R2 = 0.93–0.99) and Elovich models (R2 = 0.86–0.97). This indicates that adsorption was regulated by chemisorption. The results of the experiment exhibited a good correlation (R2) between the PSO and the maximum (qm) uptake capacities of the Langmuir isotherm model for the remediation of 2,4,6-TCP from aqueous media, which was 115.50 mg/g and 191.75 mg/g for RDPF and TEA-MDPF, respectively. TEA-MDPF biomass exhibits superior adsorption capacity compared to RDPF, making it a promising candidate for the remediation of 2,4,6-TCP from aqueous contaminated wastewater.