Efficient Treatment of Industrial Wastewater Using a Mixture of Sugarcane Bagasse-Based Carbon Nanomaterials and TiO2 Nanoparticles

A novel study was undertaken for cleaning the wastewater from the paint industry by using the combinations of carbon nanoparticles produced from waste material using different methods and TiO2 nanoparticles. Carbon nanoparticles were produced from sugarcane bagasse (a waste material) by using three different methods, namely charring in a muffle furnace (C-1), heating in the air (C-2), and treating with sulfuric acid (C-3). Atomic force microscopy demonstrated the smaller size of C-2 and C-3 nanoparticles as compared to C-1. Further, Raman spectroscopy displayed fewer defects in C-1 nanoparticles than in C-2 and C-3 but better graphene structure in C-2. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy study revealed the degraded structure of carbon nanoparticles prepared by using sulfuric acid (C-3) with more functional groups than C-1 and C-2. A comparative study using UV-visible spectroscopy showed that the sulfuric acid-treated carbon nanomaterials (C-3) were more efficient in removing the contaminants from wastewater from the paint industry because of their small size and functional groups. When carbon nanoparticles were used in the combinations with TiO2 nanoparticles, study showed that the combination of C-3 with 10% by wt TiO2 nanoparticles were the best for clearing wastewater. Mechanisms are proposed for the synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles and their role along with carbon nanoparticles (C-3) for the removal of contamination from wastewater.