Green fabrication of a novel cetylpyridinium-bagasse adsorbent for sequestration of micropollutant 2,4-D herbicide in aqueous system and its antibacterial properties against S. aureus and E. coli

This study presented a recent progress in the application of a novel cetylpyridinium chloride modified sugarcane bagasse (SB-CPC) as adsorbent with multiple functionalities for the remediation of micropollutant 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D, herbicide) and bacteria from aqueous matrices. Antibacterial potential of SB-CPC was assessed on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (as nominated bacteria) using spread plate technique. In addition, a batch mode was employed to conduct adsorption and regeneration experiments. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) methods, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to study the morphology, surface chemistry and functional groups of SBCPC. SB-CPC possessed higher antibacterial activity to such an extent that it decreased (inhibited) the number of colonies of S. aureus and E. coli in the suspensions by 84.8 +/- 1.2 and 89.5 +/- 1.9%, respectively. A novel SB-CPC had a maximum uptake of 66.5 +/- 3.5 mg g(-1) at lower temperature (293 K). Electrostatic interaction, pi-pi electron donor/acceptor (EDA) interaction and pore filling effect could be the primary mechanisms governed the removal of 2,4-D. Equilibrium isotherms were better fit to Langmuir and Koble-Corrigan models, while adsorption kinetics to pseudo-second order reaction. Thermodynamic analysis has confirmed the spontaneous, exothermic and physisorption characters of adsorption process. Moreover, a novel SB-CPC had showed a better regeneration efficiency on 2,4-D using 0.1 mol L-1 HCl solution; consequently substantiates its practical application for remediation of water and wastewater contaminated with 2,4-D and its derivatives.

Automated summary

This study demonstrated the successful application of modified sugarcane bagasse as an adsorbent for the removal of chemicals and bacteria from water matrices. The modified sugarcane bagasse showed strong antibacterial activity and effective adsorption performance, indicating its promising potential for practical engineering applications.