Adsorption of cationic/anionic dyes and endocrine disruptors by yeast/cyclodextrin polymer composites

Abstract

Factory and natural wastewaters contain a wide range of organic pollutants. Therefore, multifunctional adsorbents must be developed that can purify wastewater. Phytic acid-cross-linked Baker's yeast cyclodextrin polymer composites (IBY-PA-CDP) were prepared using a one-pot method. IBY-PA-CDP was used to adsorb methylene blue (MB), bisphenol A (BPA), and methyl orange (MO). Studies on the ionic strength and strongly acidic ion salts confirmed that IBY-PA-CDP adsorbs MO through hydrophobic interactions. This also shows that Na⁺ was the direct cause of the increased MO removal. Adsorption studies on binary systems showed that MB/MO inhibited the adsorption of BPA by IBY-PA-CDP. The presence of MB increased the removal rate of MO by IBY-PA-CDP due to the bridging effect. The Langmuir isotherm model calculated the maximum adsorption capacities for MB and BPA to be 630.96 and 83.31 mg g⁻¹, respectively. However, the Freundlich model is more suitable for fitting the experimental data for MO adsorption. To understand the rate-limiting stage of adsorption, a mass-transfer mechanism model was employed. The fitting results show that adsorption onto the active sites is the rate-determining step. After five regeneration cycles, IBY-PA-CDP could be reused with good stability and recyclability.