Preparation and utilization of wheat straw anionic sorbent for the removal of nitrate from aqueous solution

In order to reduce the impact of eutrophication caused by agricultural residues (i.e., excess nitrate) in aqueous solution, economic and effective anionic sorbents are required. In this article, we prepared anionic sorbent using wheat straw. Its structural characteristics and adsorption properties for nitrate removal from aqueous solution were investigated. The results indicate that the yield of the prepared anionic sorbent, the total exchange capacity, and the maximum adsorption capacity were 350%, 2.57 mEq/g, and 2.08 mmol/g, respectively. The Freundlich isotherm mode is more suitable than the Langmuir mode and the adsorption process accords with the first order reaction kinetic rate equation. When multiple anions (SO42-, H2PO4-, NO3-, and NO2-) were present, the isotherm mode of prepared anionic sorbent for nitrate was consistent with Freundlich mode; however, the capacity of nitrate adsorption was reduced by 50%. In alkaline solutions, about 90% of adsorbed nitrate ions could be desorbed from prepared anionic sorbent. The results of this study confirmed that the wheat straw anionic sorbent can be used as an excellent nitrate sorbent that removes nitrate from aqueous solutions.