Adsorption of acid red from dye wastewater by Zn2Al-NO 3 LDHs and the resource of adsorbent sludge as nanofiller for polypropylene

In this contribution, we report the removal of acid red 97 (AC97) from simulated dye wastewater by using Zn2Al-NO3 layered double hydroxides (LDHs) adsorbent, and the resource of the LDH adsorbent sludge as nanofiller for polypropylene (PP) for the first time. The obtained Zn 2Al-NO3 LDH was analyzed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analysis, confirming the formation of pure and platelike LDH nanoparticles. The effects of adsorption time and initial dye concentration on the removal of AC97 from wastewater were systematically investigated, showing that the Zn2Al-NO3 LDHs is very efficient in removing AC97. The saturated adsorption capacity of water washed and acetone washed Zn2Al-LDHs is 204.4 and 299.5 mg/g, respectively. Finally, the LDH adsorbent sludge was added into PP using a modified solvent mixing method. Thermal gravimetric analysis and ultraviolet (UV) absorption analysis of PP/Zn2Al-AC97 LDHs nanocomposites suggested that the Zn2Al-AC97 LDH can significantly improve the thermal stability and UV shielding ability of PP. This data demonstrated that it is very promising to resource the dye adsorbent sludge as multifunctional nanofiller for polymers. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.