Chitosan/Acid Modified Olive Tree (Olea europaea) Leaves as Sustainable Adsorbent for Organic Dye Removal from Water: Adsorption Modeling and Optimization by Box-Behnken Design

Herein, a sustainable biocomposite, referred to as CH/OTL-HS was prepared by combining chitosan with H2SO4 acid-modified olive tree leaves (Olea europaea). The physicochemical characteristics of CH/OTL-HS were investigated through various methods including CHNS-O, pH(pzc), XRD, FTIR, BET, and FESEM. An evaluation was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the CH/OTL-HS biocomposite in eliminating basic red 2 (BR2) dye from aqueous solutions. A Box-Behnken Design was in use for the optimization of the adsorption performance of CH/OTL-HS. Based on response surface methodology (RSM), this design will vary factors and consider CH/OTL-HS dose (0.02-0.1 g), pH (4-10), and time (10-80 min). Experimental results on BR2 adsorption by CH/OTL-HS matches Temkin isotherm and pseudo-first-order models. With an adsorption capacity of 351.86 mg/g under optimal conditions (CH/OTL-HS dose = 0.045 g, solution pH similar to 9, and temperature = 25 degrees C), CH/OTL-HS demonstrates outstanding performance as an adsorbent. The high adsorption of BR2 on CH/OTL-HS is due to electrostatic attraction, H-bonding, and n-pi interactions between the acidic groups and the BR2 cation. This technique might be scaled up because biomass and chitosan composites can manage biomass waste and turn plant waste into usable resources. The study emphasizes the importance of acid modified biomass-based adsorbents for removal of organic dyes. Chitosan and olive tree leaves are eco-friendly, biodegradable, and renewable materials employed in this investigation. With little ecological effect, these materials reduce synthetic chemical use and make environmental remediation more sustainable. [GRAPHICS] .