Phenol removal from aqueous medium using chemically modified banana peels as low-cost adsorbent

The removal of phenol from aqueous medium was investigated using chemically modified banana peels as adsorbent. Banana peels were alkali hydrolyzed at 100°C for 3 h and then filtered and washed thoroughly with deionized water. The pulp was bleached by treating with NaClO₃ and glacial acetic acid. The bleached pulp was treated with Acrylonitrile, Fe⁺/H₂O₂, and glacial acetic acid for grafting copolymerization. A comparative analysis of five adsorbents, untreated banana peels, acid hydrolyzed banana peels, bleached banana peels, alkali hydrolyzed banana peels, and grafted banana peels (GBPs) have also been carried out. It was found that GBPs have the highest adsorption capacity for phenol. The adsorption data are fully fitted with Langmuir isotherm model and follow second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic study shows that the adsorption of phenol is exothermic and spontaneous. This study shows that chemically modified banana peels particularly GBPs can be used as an efficient and low-cost adsorbent for the removal of phenol from wastewater.