Agro-Industrial Aloe Vera Waste-Derived Bioadsorbent for Efficient Aluminum Removal from Water

Removing metal pollutants from water sources has become a critical environmental concern, demanding ongoing research and innovation in remediation technologies. Among the treatment methods, adsorption, using organic materials derived from agro-industrial wastes, stands out. The use of bioadsorbents derived from agro-industrial wastes, such as aloe vera, can be an effective and environmentally friendly solution for removing aluminum or other pollutants in irrigation water. This study aims to evaluate the aluminum removal capacity of a bioadsorbent developed from aloe vera processing wastes, using an adsorption column at a laboratory scale. For this purpose, tests were carried out with different doses of bioadsorbent and at different influent pH, using a two-factor, three-level factorial design. FT-IR, RAMAN and SEM analyses were performed to characterize the adsorption mechanism between aluminum and the bioadsorbent, which is quite complex. The present study demonstrated that the developed bioadsorbent has an adsorption capacity between 1.14-0.64 mg/g and achieved aluminum removal rates above 73% in all experiments, with the maximum removal (about 98%) observed at pH 4.5. This high efficiency in aluminum removal, combined with the use of agro-industrial waste as a bioadsorbent source, makes it a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution. This suggests a promising potential for real-world water treatment applications, particularly in irrigation systems. Such an approach offers a sustainable and efficient solution for contaminant removal, in line with the increasing focus on environmental responsibility in water management.