A promising strategy for the utilization of waste nitrile gloves: cost-effective adsorbent synthesis

Acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) glove wastes were converted into a cost-effective adsorbent through a facile carboxylation reaction and used for the removal of cationic methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solutions frequently encountered in the polluted waters. Characterization of the adsorbent was realized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetry (TGA) to identify the functional groups and the thermal stability. Kinetic and thermodynamics studies were carried out for the evaluation of important adsorption parameters. The effect of solution pH, concentration and temperature were also investigated for determining the optimum adsorption conditions. The kinetic model was found to be in harmony with the first order kinetic model and adsorption model was well fitted with Freundlich isotherm. Maximum adsorption capacity was reached to 60 mg/g in 24 h at 318 K for 1.10⁻³ molar MB with pH 9. Thermodynamic parameters revealed that adsorption is in chemisorption range, spontaneous and exothermic in nature. The study showed that waste nitrile gloves could be successfully benefited as an efficient and low cost polymeric material for the adsorption of organic dyes from industrial discharged polluted waters.