Recent advancements in nanoscale materials from biomass waste demonstrate efficacy in removing Fe2+ and Ni2+ from water

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> Elevated concentrations of heavy metal ions are in many ways considered to be an affront to the aquatic ecosystems; their sources being attributed mainly to industries and agricultural sectors and, and a lesser extent, urban water runoff during storms. Heavy metal ions that are easily found in water sources include lead, mercury, chromium, cadmium, arsenic, and copper. These metals, if ingested or inhaled, cause many health hazards and present great risks to water bodies because they reduce the oxygen available to fish and other aquatic animals. One way to prevent this problem is to use nanoparticles at the nano level obtained from industrial and agricultural waste products for the removal of heavy metals from water. In the adsorption process, heavy metal ions tend to attach to the exterior surfaces of these nanoscale biomass particles, with possible removal from the aqueous phase. They also affirmed that the technical effectiveness of nanowaste biomass in water desalination reduces the availability of heavy metal contaminants in water in a relatively cheaper and more sustainable manner than conventional methods. In the present study, synthesized (45–60 nm) pomegranate nanoparticles (PGSN) were used as biosorbents, which yielded high removal performances of 85% for Fe²⁺ and 83% for Ni²⁺ ions. The biosorbent was characterized using zeta size and zeta potential analyses, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDXA), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface analysis, and High-, X-ray diffraction (XRD).