By Abbas Nazil
A new research has revealed that agricultural biomass waste could provide an effective and low-cost solution for industrial water pollution.
The research, published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research, demonstrated that torrefied rice husks and de-oiled cashew nut shell cake, both by-products of agricultural processing, can efficiently remove hazardous textile dyes from wastewater.
The research, led by Subraja Suriyakumar and Hari Mahalingam in collaboration with Ruben D. Sudhakar, showed that biomass can act as a sustainable adsorbent, repurposing agricultural residues that might otherwise be discarded.
Through torrefaction, a mild thermal treatment process, the surface structure of the biomass was enhanced, increasing porosity and adsorption capacity.
Laboratory experiments tested these torrefied materials and their ashes against Reactive Violet 5, a common and highly toxic azo dye used in the textile industry.
Results indicated that torrefied rice husk achieved the highest dye removal efficiency, reaching 108.58 milligrams per gram, outperforming other biomass-based adsorbents.
The adsorption process was found to be spontaneous, feasible, and exothermic, following established Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models, as well as a pseudo-second-order kinetic pattern.
Researchers emphasized that the versatility of biomass allows for scalable applications in wastewater treatment, offering a circular and eco-friendly alternative to conventional chemical methods.
By turning agricultural by-products into functional environmental solutions, the study highlights the potential to reduce industrial pollution while promoting sustainable resource use.
These findings provide critical insight into using locally available, renewable materials for industrial environmental management, potentially reducing costs and ecological impact simultaneously.
The study opens pathways for further development of biomass-based technologies in water treatment and environmental remediation globally, contributing to cleaner industrial processes and more sustainable practices.
Biomass waste, if widely adopted, could transform the way industries address water pollution challenges.