Engineering a sustainable cadmium sulfide/polyethyleneimine-functionalized biochar/chitosan composite for effective chromium adsorption: optimization, co-interfering anions, and mechanisms

Abstract

A novel eco-friendly adsorbent was fabricated by mixing mushroom-derived cadmium sulfide and polyethyleneimine-functionalized biochar that was fabricated from coffee waste with a chitosan biopolymer. The green-synthesized CdS/PEI-BC/CTS composite was analyzed using several characterization methods to identify its morphological, compositional, and structural characteristics. In addition, the adsorption property of the composite was investigated for hexavalent chromium as a model for anionic heavy metals. The best adsorption conditions to efficiently adsorb Cr(VI) onto CdS/PEI-BC/CTS were scrutinized in the batch mode. The experimental results elucidated that the higher adsorption efficacy for Cr(VI) was 97.89% at pH = 3, Cr(VI) concentration = 50 mg L⁻¹, CdS/PEI-BC/CTS dose = 0.01 g, and temperature = 20 °C. The impact of co-interfering anionic species on Cr(VI) adsorption was identified in simulated wastewater. The recycling property of the CdS/PEI-BC/CTS composite was assessed for ten runs to ensure the applicability of the green composite. The adsorption mechanism and interaction types were proposed on the basis of kinetic and isotherm studies, along with analysis tools. The mechanistic study proposed that the Cr(VI) adsorption onto CdS/PEI-BC/CTS occurred via chemical and physical pathways, including protonation, electrostatic interactions, reduction, and coordination bonds.