The increased demand for clean water especially in overpopulated
countries is of great concern; thus, the development of eco-friendly
and cost-effective techniques and materials that can remediate polluted
water for possible reuse in agricultural purposes can offer a life-saving
solution to improve human welfare, especially in view of climate change
impacts. In the current study, the agricultural byproducts of palm
trees have been used for the first time as a carbon source to produce
graphene functionalized with ferrocene in a composite form to enhance
its water treatment potential. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM),
energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible,
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, thermogravimetric
analysis, and Raman techniques have been used to characterize the
produced materials. SEM investigations confirmed the formation of
multiple sheets of the graphene composite. Data collected from the
zeta potential revealed that graphene was supported with a negative
surface charge that maintains its stability while XRD elucidated that
graphene characteristic peaks were evident at 2θ = 22.4 and
22.08° using palm leaves and fibers, respectively. Batch adsorption
experiments were conducted to find out the most suitable conditions
to remove PO4
3– from wastewater by applying
different parameters, including pH, adsorbent dose, initial concentration,
and time. Their effect on the adsorption process was also investigated.
Results demonstrated that the best adsorption capacity was 58.93 mg/g
(removal percentage: 78.57%) using graphene derived from palm fibers
at 15 mg L–1 initial concentration, pH = 3, dose
= 10 mg, and 60 min contact time. Both linear and non-linear forms
of kinetic and isotherm models were investigated. The adsorption process
obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and was well fitted to
the Langmuir isotherm.