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Worldwide every year massive amount of coal fly ash is being generated as by product in the power plants which creates economic, environmental and most importantly health problems. Usually coal fly ash is used in cement production worldwide. At present, in Bangladesh, about 95 % of fly ash remains still unutilized. The alkali activation of fly ash has become a top research topic as it is possible to synthesize low cost and ecologically sound mesoporous zeolite type materials. In the present work, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time in Bangladesh, synthesis and characterization of crystalline mesoporous (H3 type hysteresis) aluminosilicate consisting of Na-P1 zeolite with a high BET specific surface area and a high pore volume from coal fly ash based on hydrothermal alkali activation technique have been successfully done. This product has versatile applications like catalysis, gas separation, water softening, water purification, gas sensing etc. The variable of alkali concentration was studied which has the notable influence on the development of the framework of the pores. The untreated coal fly ash (CFA) and the synthesized modified fly ashes (MFAs) were tested by WDS-XRF, XRD, N2 physisorption, FE-SEM, FT-IR, XPS, EDAX-mapping, particle size analysis and other technologies. The BET specific surface area, total pore volume and average pore diameter of the CFA were only 3 m2/g, 0.01 cc/g and 6.3 nm respectively based on nitrogen gas physisorption technique, whereas, after alkali activation at a specific temperature and time, and then curing, significant and promising increased values of the said parameters of 45 m2/g, 0.11 cc/g and 9.8 nm were obtained respectively. In methylene blue dye adsorption experiment, MFA showed higher adsorption capacity (23.87 mg/g).

This study reports the adsorption efficacy of hydroxyapatite (HAp) for removing Congo Red (CR) dye from aqueous solution. HAp was synthesized utilizing chicken eggshell as a precursor of Ca source. Solid state synthesis method was implemented which comprised calcination at 950 °C (E-HAp950). XRD analysis confirmed the formation of bi-phasic HAp with 15.5% of β-TCP. Elemental composition was evaluated by XPS and EDX analysis. FESEM analysis revealed the particles are of plate and spherical shaped also confirmed by the TEM images. DLS particle size, zeta potential, BET surface area and point of zero charge were also evaluated. Adsorption efficacy of E-HAp950 for removing CR was evaluated by batch adsorption experiment. Maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) was found to be 9.64 mgg−1 which was best explained by the non-linear fitting (R2 = 0.98) of Langmuir isotherm. Adsorption kinetics profusely followed pseudo second order kinetic model (R2 = 0.999) with qe (experimental) being very much closer to qe (calculative) for this model. Thus, hydroxyapatite prepared by utilizing eggshell waste through solid state method has the potential to remove toxic dyes.

In this study, a carbon-based adsorbent was developed from waste newspaper through pyrolysis at 800 °C to evaluate the removal efficiency of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Benzo[ghi]perylene (BghiP) and Indeno [1,2,3-cd] pyrene (IP)) from wastewater. The surface area of the developed adsorbent was estimated at 509.247m2g-1 which allowed the adsorption of the PAHs from wastewater. The maximum adsorption capacity was estimated at 138.436 μg g−1 and 228.705 μg g−1 for BghiP and IP, respectively and the highest removal efficiency was observed at pH 2. Around 91% removal efficiency was observed at pH 7 for both pollutants. Experimental adsorption data were fit for pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm models, which demonstrate electrostatic interaction, monolayered deposition, hydrogen bonding, and π-π interaction between adsorbate and adsorbent which play a significant role in adsorption. The regeneration study described that the developed adsorbent could be able to intake 52.75% BghiP and 48.073% IP until the 8th and 6th cycles, respectively. The removal efficiency of the adsorbent in the real sample was also evaluated. This study will provide a method to convert waste material into adsorbent and will remove PAHs from wastewater as a function of pollutant mitigation and waste management.

A novel B-doped ZnO/TiO2 (B–ZnO/TiO2) nanocomposite photocatalyst was prepared using a mechanochemical–calcination method. For the characterization of the synthesized B–ZnO/TiO2 photocatalyst, XRD, FESEM-EDS, FTIR, UV-Vis DRS, BET, PL, and XPS techniques were used. The bandgap energy of B–ZnO/TiO2 was reduced, resulting in enhanced visible-light absorption. Significant PL quenching confirmed the reduction in the electron–hole recombination rate. Furthermore, reduced crystallite size and a larger surface area were obtained. Hence, the B–ZnO/TiO2 photocatalyst exhibited better photocatalytic activity than commercial TiO2, ZnO, B–ZnO, and ZnO/TiO2 in the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye under natural sunlight irradiation. The effects of various parameters, such as initial concentration, photocatalyst amount, solution pH, and irradiation time, were studied. Under optimal conditions (MB concentration of 15 mg/L, pH 11, B–ZnO/TiO2 amount of 30 mg, and 15 min of operation), a maximum MB removal efficiency of ~95% was obtained. A plausible photocatalytic degradation mechanism of MB with B–ZnO/TiO2 was estimated from the scavenger test, and it was observed that the •O2− and •OH radicals were potential active species for the MB degradation. Cyclic experiments indicated the high stability and reusability of B–ZnO/TiO2, which confirmed that it can be an economical and environmentally friendly photocatalyst.