Cocos nucifera Husk Biomass as an Effective Adsorbent for Industrial Wastewater Removal: Harnessing the Power of Nature

Background: Rapid industrialization has polluted waterways, threatened aquatic ecosystems and endangered human health. To solve this problem, sustainable industrial practices and innovative water treatment technology must be implemented to ensure clean and safe water for future generations. Methods: This study aimed to investigate the adsorbent capacity of Cocos nucifera husk for ineffective removal of methylene blue (MB), a cationic dye abundantly found in industrial effluent. Adsorption capacity is measured using parameters such as dye elimination percentage and polymer dosage. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, adsorption kinetics (pseudo-first, pseudo-second, and second order), and intraparticle diffusion were determined to better understand the adsorption process. Results: The increased dosage of cellulose fiber results in the availability of a greater number of adsorption sites and an increased surface area. However, the dye removal efficacy decreased after reaching a specific dosage of 0.6 g/L. A concentration of 0.05 g/L was most effective in eliminating Methylene blue (MB). The value of the separation factor (0.99) suggested a favorable adsorption isotherm. The reciprocal of the heterogeneity factor (-1.469) demonstrated the concentration-independent adsorption behavior of Fiber. Freundlich and Langmuir's isotherm model showed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model demonstrated the highest level of correlation with the experimental data about the mechanism of adsorption. The Methylene blue (MB) adsorption is not limited by the intraparticle diffusion and adsorption is influenced by surface area and concentration variation of fiber as well as solvent concentration, as evidenced by low R2 value and the fact that the intraparticle diffusion plot does not intersect with the origin. Conclusion: The study concludes that Cocos nucifera husk can be effectively used for the treatment of wastewater.