Enhanced cellulose extraction from agave plant (Agave americana Species) for synthesis of magnetic/cellulose nanocomposite for defluoridation of water

Research on fluoride removal from water is currently focusing on the development of innovative materials for defluoridation water. The current study extracted and used enhanced cellulose from Agave americana species to synthesize a magnetic/cellulose nanocomposite for water defluoridation. Strong and light binary acids (H2SO4 and CH3COOH) were utilized to pretreat raw material to enhance cellulose extraction. Central composite design (CCD) was used to design experiments to find optimum condition for cellulose extraction. Four key factors (H2SO4 to CH3COOH ratio, acid concentration, temperature, and contact time) with three levels were designed by CCD. The lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose content of raw agave cellulosic fiber in this study were 5.5 +/- 0.27, 20.5 +/- 0.23 and 60.4 +/- 0.31 % respectively. While, at the optimum conditions of 2.3 % acid concentration, 0.44 H2SO4 to CH3COOH ratio, 83.2 min of retention time, and 105.5 oC, cellulose content reached 940.25 %. Then, enhanced cellulose was covered with magnetic components, resulting in a magnetic/cellulose nano composite. The adsorbent materials were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Dynamic light scattering (DLS). In addition, textural features of the adsorbent were investigated. All characterization results suggest that the synthesized adsorbent has the required properties. Adsorption tests were carried out using various interaction components. The combined effects of critical process variables on defluoridation were examined. The adsorption isotherm was calculated. Overall, the research demonstrated that the produced magnetic/cellulose nanocomposite can be employed as an efficient and ecologically acceptable adsorbent for fluoride removal from water.