Fabrication of g-C₃N₄/alginate biocomposites with fenugreek seed gum for efficient column and batch adsorption of mercuric ions.
- 1Department of Physical Sciences, Chemistry Division, College of Science, Jazan University P.O. Box 114 Jazan 45142 Saudi Arabia.
- 2Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Faisal University Al-Ahsa 31982 Saudi Arabia.
- 3Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Damanhour University Damanhour Egypt [email protected].
Abstract
Mercuric ions (Hg²⁺) are among the most dangerous heavy metal cations to human health because they resist corrosion, dissolve easily, and have the potential to cause cancer and other diseases. In environmental adsorption applications, the development of eco-friendly, efficient, and reusable solid adsorbents is considered the main challenge. In the current study, three solid adsorbents were prepared and characterized for the efficient removal of Hg²⁺, namely, graphitic carbon nitride/alginate (CAlg), fenugreek seed gum/alginate (FAlg), and graphitic carbon nitride/fenugreek seed gum/alginate (FCAlg) composites. The fabricated FCAlg showed important characteristics, such as a surface area (S BET) of 161.4 m² g⁻¹, a pore diameter of 2.032 nm, a point of zero charge (pHPZC) of 6.7, and a surface rich in different chemical functional groups. Both batch and fixed-bed column adsorption techniques were employed to remove Hg²⁺ ions to achieve a complete picture of the fabricated adsorbent's efficiency. FCAlg effectively adsorbed Hg²⁺ ions in batch studies, achieving the highest adsorption capacity (460.7 mg g⁻¹) under specific conditions such as pH 4, 1.0 g L⁻¹ adsorbent dose, 50 min of shaking time, and 15 °C. Several nonlinear isotherm and kinetic models were used to accurately characterize Hg²⁺ adsorption. FCAlg exhibited a column adsorption capacity of 68.3 mg g⁻¹ under optimal conditions including a bed height of 1.5 cm, an initial Hg²⁺ concentration of 80 mg L⁻¹, a solution flow rate of 10 mL min⁻¹, pH 4, and 15 °C. Overall, the batch and column studies highlight the strong potential of FCAlg for practical applications as an adsorbent for Hg²⁺ removal due to the surface chemical functional groups introduced by the applied biopolymers and enhanced textural characteristics.
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BibTeX
@article{otaif2026fabrication,
title = {{Fabrication of g-C₃N₄/alginate biocomposites with fenugreek seed gum for efficient column and batch adsorption of mercuric ions.}},
author = {Haleema Y Otaif and Mashael M Alharbi and Norah S Alhebshe and Abdel-Nasser M A Alaghaz and Asaad F Hassan},
journal = {RSC advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra05469b},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42835751},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fabrication of g-C₃N₄/alginate biocomposites with fenugreek seed gum for efficient column and batch adsorption of mercuric ions.
AU - Haleema Y Otaif
AU - Mashael M Alharbi
AU - Norah S Alhebshe
AU - Abdel-Nasser M A Alaghaz
AU - Asaad F Hassan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - RSC advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra05469b
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42835751
AB - Mercuric ions (Hg²⁺) are among the most dangerous heavy metal cations to human health because they resist corrosion, dissolve easily, and have the potential to cause cancer and other diseases. In environmental adsorption applications, the development of eco-friendly, efficient, and reusable solid adsorbents is considered the main challenge. In the current study, three solid adsorbents were prepared and characterized for the efficient removal of Hg²⁺, namely, graphitic carbon nitride/alginate (CAlg), fenugreek seed gum/alginate (FAlg), and graphitic carbon nitride/fenugreek seed gum/alginate (FCAlg) composites. The fabricated FCAlg showed important characteristics, such as a surface area (S BET) of 161.4 m² g⁻¹, a pore diameter of 2.032 nm, a point of zero charge (pHPZC) of 6.7, and a surface rich in different chemical functional groups. Both batch and fixed-bed column adsorption techniques were employed to remove Hg²⁺ ions to achieve a complete picture of the fabricated adsorbent's efficiency. FCAlg effectively adsorbed Hg²⁺ ions in batch studies, achieving the highest adsorption capacity (460.7 mg g⁻¹) under specific conditions such as pH 4, 1.0 g L⁻¹ adsorbent dose, 50 min of shaking time, and 15 °C. Several nonlinear isotherm and kinetic models were used to accurately characterize Hg²⁺ adsorption. FCAlg exhibited a column adsorption capacity of 68.3 mg g⁻¹ under optimal conditions including a bed height of 1.5 cm, an initial Hg²⁺ concentration of 80 mg L⁻¹, a solution flow rate of 10 mL min⁻¹, pH 4, and 15 °C. Overall, the batch and column studies highlight the strong potential of FCAlg for practical applications as an adsorbent for Hg²⁺ removal due to the surface chemical functional groups introduced by the applied biopolymers and enhanced textural characteristics.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -