Nano-activated carbon derived from date palm coir waste for efficient sequestration of noxious 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicide

Alarming water contamination rates by toxic herbicides have drawn attention to treat these pollutants using efficient, easy, and economic techniques. In this work, date-palm coir (DPC) waste-based nano-activated carbon (DPC-AC) was successfully prepared and examined for adsorptive removal of toxic 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DPA) herbicide from synthetic wastewater. The DPC-AC was synthesized via a single-step carbonization-KOH activation approach. The nanosorbent displayed a flaky morphology with graphitic structure and oxygen-rich surface functionalities. The nanocarbon with a mean particle size of 163 nm possessed a high specific surface area of 947 m²/g with an average pore size of 2.28 nm. High 2,4-DPA removal efficiency of 98.6% was obtained for the optimal adsorption conditions of pH 2, dosage 0.15 g, rotational speed 100 rpm, time 90 min, and initial 2,4-DPA concentration of 100 mg/L. Langmuir isotherm best described the equilibrium behavior with a theoretical maximum of 50.25 mg/g adsorption capacity for the system. Pseudo-second order model was more appropriate in quantifying the kinetics for all initial feed concentrations. Thermodynamically, the adsorption process was spontaneous, endothermic, and involved low activation energy. A plausible mechanism for the adsorption-desorption of 2,4-DPA onto DPC-AC is also discussed. Cost analysis and regenerability studies proved the economic value ($3/kg) and reusable nature of DPC-AC without any significant loss in its performance. Overall, this study highlights the advantages of DPC waste valorization into efficient nanoadsorbent and the sequestration of noxious 2,4-DPA herbicide from its aqueous streams using this nanosorbent.