Radiation grafted cellulose fabric as reusable anionic adsorbent: A novel strategy for potential large-scale dye wastewater remediation

A low cost, cellulose based anionic adsorbent has been synthesized at room temperature by single step gamma radiation induced grafting of 4-vinylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (VBSA) onto cellulose using water as solvent. Grafting parameters, namely, radiation dose, monomer concentration, volume/weight ratio, were studied to optimize the radiation grafting process. Poly(VBSA) grafted cellulose (PVBSA-g-cellulose) samples were characterized by grafting yield estimation, Elemental analysis, FTIR, TGA and SEM. The radiation grafted adsorbent was tested for textile dyes removal from aqueous solutions, in batch and continuous flow column operation mode, using Basic Red-29 (BR-29) dye as a model textile dye. Adsorbent with 25% grafting yield exhibited an adsorption capacity of 320 mg.g(-1), which was corroborated by the equilibrium adsorption and kinetic studies. The adsorbent was regenerated and demonstrated to be reusable for multiple cycles with minimal attrition losses. The process was successfully upscaled and demonstrated at a semi pilot scale treatment.