Doctoral Thesis
Investigations into the Development of Alternative Green and Sustainable Nanotechnologies: Activated Carbon and Magnetite Nanoparticles to Address Toxic Dye Pollutants from Textile Industry Wastewater
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Murdoch University
2025
Abstract
Advancing alternative green and sustainable remediation technologies to prevent, mitigate, and eliminate dyes in effluent wastewater produced by the textile industry is of worldwide significance. Current projections suggest that global textile production generates between $2.4 trillion and $3 trillion in revenue each year and is anticipated to increase by an additional 63% by the year 2030. To produce one ton of textiles, around 200 tons of dye-contaminated water is discharged into natural water bodies like rivers and lakes. Importantly, these dyes are considered to be serious pollutants since they are non-biodegradable and life-threatening due to their toxicity towards aquatic life. The fundamental objective of this PhD project is to employ natural, safe, and environmentally friendly materials and methods to mitigate the negative impacts of dye pollution in aqueous systems. This work aims to promote the concept of circular economy principles by sustainably converting Macadamia nut shells, a major agricultural waste, into a value-added activated carbon (AC) product that can be used to reduce dye pollution present in wastewater. For the first time, a low-temperature hydrothermal (LTH) method was used to produce high-quality MAC AC, which was then used as an absorber for removal of RIT navy blue dye, a commercially available textile dye from aqueous solutions. The study found that the adsorption kinetics was governed by a linear pseudo-first order equation, and was modelled by the Langmuir isotherm, which reveal an adsorption capacity of 57.8 mg/g. This study also presents, for the first time, the synthesis of magnetite (MAG) nanoparticles (NPs) using leaf extracts derived from the endemic Western Australian plant, Banksia Ashbyi (BA). Moreover, the study found there was a synergistic effect when ultrasonic irradiation was used during the dye degradation process which increased dye removal to 89.8% within 25 minutes. The present work also combined MAG with AC; to produce a composite that overcome the agglomeration normally associated with independent iron oxide nanoparticles in solution. The MAC@MAG composite, under the influence of 80W of ultrasound power, was capable of removing 92.2% of the RIT dye from aqueous solutions in 50 minutes. Overall, the results of this project indicate that MAG NPs, MAC AC, and the MAC@MAG composite have significant potential as remediation strategies for the removal of textile dyes from wastewater.
Details
- Title
- Investigations into the Development of Alternative Green and Sustainable Nanotechnologies: Activated Carbon and Magnetite Nanoparticles to Address Toxic Dye Pollutants from Textile Industry Wastewater
- Authors/Creators
- A F M Fahad Halim
- Contributors
- Gerrard E J Poinern (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, Centre for Water, Energy and WasteZhongT Jiang (Supervisor) - Murdoch University, Centre for Water, Energy and WasteDerek Fawcett (Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Murdoch University; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Identifiers
- 991005807948707891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Mathematics, Statistics, Chemistry and Physics; Murdoch Applied Nanotechnology Research Group
- Resource Type
- Doctoral Thesis
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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