Vol. 24, No. 2 (2025), Mat25443 https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/Mat25443

Characterization and efficiency of Luffa cylindrica as bioadsorbent in Cr (VI) remotion from synthetic wastewater

 

Authors

J.G. Moreno-Rubio, N.R. Osornio-Rubio, H. Jiménez-Islas, E. Barrera-Calva, A.Y. Ramírez-Yañez, G.M. Martínez-González

Abstract

This study investigated luffa as a bioadsorbent for removing Cr (VI) from synthetic wastewater. Luffa was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), which mainly revealed a composition of carbon and oxygen, as identified via SEM. The morphology showed cylindrical fibers arranged in a network, with diameters ranging from 200 to 300 μm and surface fissures between 25 and 100 μm. FTIR analysis detected hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl functional groups responsible for adsorbing HCrO₄-1. The composition of luffa was found to be 14% lignin, 76% cellulose, and 10% hemicellulose. Adsorption kinetics were evaluated at pH 2 using 0.5 g of luffa in 100 mL of synthetic wastewater, with Cr (VI) concentrations varying between 15 and 50 ppm. Sampling followed the NMX-AA-044-SCFI-2014 protocol, and Cr (VI) quantification was performed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, achieving a removal efficiency of 100%. The adsorption kinetics were adjusted to a pseudo-second-order model using parameter estimation. Luffa demonstrated an adsorption capacity of 10.0 mg Cr (VI)/g, with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) revealing 1.21% Cr in dry luffa and 48.23% in calcined luffa, indicating Cr incorporation within the luffa structure. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis detected 8.72% Cr in dry luffa and 75.07% in calcined luffa.

Keywords

Cr (VI), Luffa, Bioadsorption Kinetics, Wastewater.

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