Trapa natans peels (TNPs) and Citrullus lanatus peels (CLPs) were utilized for the biosorptive removal of brilliant green dye (BGD), after modifying with citric acid. Characterization and surface morphology were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. For the removal of BGD by citric acid-treated Trapa natans peels (CA-TNPs), the optimum conditions were obtained with adsorbent dose 0.8 g, contact time 25 minutes, initial pH 5, temperature 30°C, and agitation speed 100 rpm, while for the citric acid-treated Citrullus lanatus peels (CA-CLPs), adsorbent dose 0.8 g, contact time 20 minutes, pH 5, temperature 30°C, and agitation speed 100 rpm gave optimum results. The qmax values obtained were 108.6, 128, 144.9, and 188.68 mg/g for R-TNP, CA-TNP, R-CLP, and CA-CLP, respectively, while the correlation coefficient (R2) values obtained were 0.985, 0.986, 0.985, and 0.998 for R-TNP, CA-TNP, R-CLP, and CA-CLP, respectively. These favor the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics, with negative (ΔG0) values of all adsorbents, determining that the adsorption phenomenon is exothermic and spontaneous in nature. Both citric acid-treated peels of Trapa natans and Citrullus lanatus were found suitable for bulk-scale eradication of hazardous, toxic, and carcinogenic basic cationic dyes.

Various chemicals were explored in chemical combinations with two selected agrowastes in order to optimize, enhance, and improve their biosorption potential for the optimal and effective eradication of noxious, carcinogenic, and malignant cationic and basic dyes from wastewater. In this project, environmentally safe, economic, inexpensive, and widely available peels of Trapa natans (TP) and Citrullus lanatus (CP) were collected, dried, and pretreated with citric acid, revealing promising results. FT-IR and SEM characterizations of chemically changed biosorbents (C-TP and C-CP) have evidenced the presence of more secondary adsorption sites on their surfaces. These acid-modified biosorbents were employed to eliminate the hazardous and toxic basic dyes such as Rhodamine B (RAD) and Brilliant Green Dye (BLG) in batch mode processing. The Langmuir model was best fitted to equilibrium experimental data as compared to Freundlich and Temkin isothermal mathematical models with Qmax of 15.63 and 27.55 mg/g for RAD using C-TP and C-CP, respectively, whereas, for BLG on C-TP and C-CP, it was 128 and 189 mg/g, respectively. Therefore, the mechanism is related to chelation and ion exchange modes between adsorbate molecules and adsorbent surfaces, leading to homogeneous and monolayer adsorption and following pseudo-2nd-order kinetics in the best way. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG0, ΔS0, ΔH0, and ΔE0 are determined statistically for the adsorption performance of both novel chemically mutant biosorbents, which reflect that biosorption mechanisms are exothermic as well as spontaneous.

This study presents the use of Citrullus lanatus peels for the removal of Cd(II) and Pb(II) using batch mode. Their chemically modified acid and base treated forms were utilized for biosorption studies by optimizing all parameters. Results indicated that base modified Citrullus lanatus peels were more effective for removal of these metal ions. Removal efficiency for cadmium and lead was found to be 92.32-94.1 % and 91.94-92.58 %, respectively. Isothermal and thermodynamic investigations were carried out to find sorption mechanism and their suitability to use on bulk scale. Promising sorption capacity values for Cd(II) 19.310 mg/g and Pb(II) 25.775 mg/g, along with pseudo-second order mode and exothermic thermodynamic nature; all these favour their use for industrial scale water treatment.

The native peels of two cheap, locally available adsorbents, watermelon (PWM) and water chestnuts (PWC), were chemically processed with different chemicals as modifying agents for the determination and assessment of their adsorption ability for the removal and clearance of harmful, venomous, and pernicious Congo red (CGR), as an acidic nature anionic dye, from the aqueous system. In successive batch experiments, the citric acid-treated peels CPWM and CPWC have shown more promising adsorption performance than their raw and untreated peel counterparts due to the availability of additional adsorption active binding sites evidenced through FT-IR and SEM characterizations. In the Langmuir and Temkin models, the correlation coefficients ( R 2 ) for the adsorptive removal of CGR on CPWM, PWM, CPWC, and PWC are very close to unity, 0.99 for each case of adsorption performance. Furthermore, the q max nonlinear statistical results for the elimination of CGR on citric acid-treated adsorbents (CPWM and CPWC) are 8.3 and 7.95 mg/g whereas for their unmodified forms (PWM and PWC) are 2.23 and 4.32 mg/g, respectively, reflecting homogenous and monolayer adsorption mechanism. The greater values of B T 1.4 and 1.3 J/mole, for adsorptive removal of dye on CPWM and CPWC, respectively, as compared to their unmodified forms PWM and PWC which are 0.53 and 0.55 J/mole, respectively, indicate the stronger adsorbate-adsorbent associations. The mechanism follows the pseudo second order in the better mode, while thermodynamic statics for ΔH0,ΔG0, ΔS0, and ΔE0, indicate spontaneous and exothermic behavior of adsorption. This study tends to suggest that citric acid-modified adsorbents CPWM and CPWC may indeed be exploited efficiently to eliminate Congo red dye from wastewater.