Superior adsorption capacity of functionalised straw adsorbent for dyes and heavy-metal ions

Dyes and heavy-metal ions are common pollutants in printing and dyeing wastewater, and are thus attracting considerable attention. Herein, an eco-friendly straw-based adsorbent, WS-CA-AM, was prepared by grafting with acrylamide (AM) and citric acid (CA) groups to remove representative dyes and heavy metals from aqueous solution. The adsorption capacities of WS-CA-AM for methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) were 3053.48 and 120.84 mg/g, which were 54 and 3 times those of unmodified straw, respectively. Moreover, the adsorption capacities for MB, MO, Cr2O72- and Cu2+ in the mixed system increased by 210%, 133%, 196% and 151%, respectively, compared with those in the single system. The significant increase in adsorption capacity can be attributed to the collaborative effect through electrostatic attraction. The functional groups and adsorbed pollutants all served as adsorption sites for pollutants. These results indicate that WS-CA-AM is a potential applicant for the removal of dyes and heavy-metal ions from mixed aqueous solution.