Synthesis of iron loaded jackfruit peel biochar through microwave heating as a stable and active heterogenous Fenton catalyst for dye degradation.

Iron-loaded biochar derived from jackfruit peels (Fe-JP) was synthesised by pyrolysis in a microwave furnace and iron was loaded onto the peels prior to pyrolysis, facilitated by sonication. The primary objective of the investigation was to examine the degradation process of methylene blue (MB) dye and Acid Red 1 (AR1) dye by the using Fe-JP biochar as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst. The investigation encompassed an examination of the impact of different operating parameters, such as pH, catalyst dosage, and H 2 O 2 concentration. The synthesised Fenton catalyst underwent characterization using Field Emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra analysis, Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) analysis. At a pH of 3, using an initial MB dye concentration of 20 mg/L and initial AR1 dye concentration of 50 mg/L, an 8 mM H 2 O 2 concentration, and a catalyst dose of 2 g/L, the maximum dye removal efficiency reached 96.5 % and 98 % respectively, while the total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency reached 68.5 % and 75 % respectively. The observed reaction time under the given experimental conditions was 120 min. The thermal stability of the biochar catalyst was found to be excellent based on the Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) studies. The catalysts that were developed demonstrated remarkable durability and negligible leaching of iron, hence enabling their repeated usage in subsequent cycles. The findings of the investigation suggest that the primary mechanism responsible for the degradation of the dye was the surface-based heterogeneous Fenton activity. Additionally, the effect of adsorption on the elimination of colour under varying pH conditions was examined, which had a very low influence in dye degradation (<30 %). The conducted scavenging investigations in the research have indicated the major involvement of hydroxyl radicals (OH) in the degradation process, followed by surface-bound hydroxyl radicals (OH surface), superoxide radicals (O 2 −) and ultimately by singlet oxygen radicals (1O 2). The study's economic analysis demonstrated that using microwave mode of heating for catalyst synthesis is both green and cost-effective. This observation suggests the possibility of practical implications in the domain of dye degradation. [Display omitted] • Synthesis of iron impregnated jackfruit peel (Fe-JP) biochar as heterogenous Fenton catalyst • Fenton oxidation of MB dye and AR1 dye and optimising the operation parameters (pH, catalyst dosage and H 2 O 2 dosage) • Elucidation of Fenton oxidation mechanism of FeJP on MB dye and AR1 dye • The economic aspects of Fe-JP catalyst were evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]