Polyethylenimine-coated polysulfone/bacterial biomass composite fiber as a biosorbent for the removal of anionic dyes: Optimization of manufacturing conditions using response surface methodology

This study aim was to optimize the manufacturing conditions polyethylenimine-coated polysulfone/bacterial biomass composite fiber (PEI-PSBF) to remove anionic pollutants from aqueous solution. The contents of biomass, PEI, and glutaraldehyde (GA) were selected as independent variables, and the response was defined as Reactive Yellow 2 (RY2) uptake. The manufacturing conditions were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) with the full factorial central composite design (CCD). The determined coefficient of determination (R-2) value of the reduced quadratic model was 0.9551, and the optimal manufacturing conditions were predicted as 4.145 g of biomass, 1.104 g of PEI and 3.9 mu L of GA, at where the predicted RY2 uptake was 543.78 mg/g. For validating the RSM-predicted results, the RY2 sorption capacity of the optimized PEI-PSBF was evaluated through isotherm experiments. The experimentally confirmed maximal uptake was comparable to predicted one. From these studies, the manufacturing conditions for PEI-PSBF were well optimized and its sorption capacity was 3.83 times higher than that of the PSBF.