Methylene blue removal by poly(acrylic acid)-grafted pineapple leaf fiber/polyester nonwoven fabric adsorbent and its comparison with removal by gamma or electron beam irradiation

This work aimed to synthesize poly(acrylic acid)-grafted pineapple leaf fiber/polyester nonwoven fabric (PPNWF-g-PAA) through radiation-induced graft polymerization. The synthesized PPNWF-g-PAAs were used as adsorbents for methylene blue (MB) adsorption in aqueous solution. The grafting was performed with a systematic variation of experimental parameters in order to produce PPNWF-g-PAA with a degree of grafting of at least 150%. Based on the results, the optimum experimental parameters were the following: irradiation with 2.0 MeV of energy, current of 12 mA, 30 kGy of absorbed dose, and grafting with 20% acrylic acid at 40 °C for 3 h. Results of the batch adsorption experiments revealed that PPNWF-g-PAA successfully adsorbed MB from aqueous solution with a contact time of about 3 h. The efficiency of MB adsorption was also compared with direct MB degradation through gamma or electron beam irradiation. Results of the irradiation experiments revealed that a minimum of 5 kGy was required in order to achieve complete removal of the MB molecules using direct irradiation which is lower than the absorbed dose requirement for the synthesis of PPNWF-g-PAA. However, the MB removal using the adsorbent does not generate degradation products unlike the MB removal using direct irradiation. •Radiation technology was used for the removal of methylene blue (MB).•A pineapple leaf fiber/polyester adsorbent was synthesized via radiation grafting.•The grafted fabric was used for the removal of MB in aqueous solution.•A comparison of MB removal via adsorption and direct irradiation was done.