Studies on adsorption behavior of electrospun nanofibers for pollutant remediation from simulated wastewater

The objective of this study is to investigate the adsorption behavior of an electrospun ceria-nanofiber adsorbent in removing pollutants from a simulated solution. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize this nanofiber composite. Adsorption parameters including contact time, pH, starting arsenic concentration, and adsorbent dose were optimized using batch adsorption studies. After copper was added to nanofiber, maximum removal efficiencies were increased to 96.5% under optimal conditions (1.2 g/L adsorbate dose; 2.0 ppm initial As(III) concentration; and pH of 5.0). Furthermore, the response surface methodology was also successfully applied to the design optimization of the process with central composite design. The Temkin isotherm model (R² = 0.98) better described the adsorption equilibrium results. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model was followed by adsorption experimental data. Other kinetics theories, such as Elovich, intra-particle, and film diffusion, were also used to develop a better understanding of the adsorption mechanism. The viability of a copper/ceria composite nanofiber in the removal of arsenic demonstrates an emerging candidate in the removal of pollutants from wastewater.