Removal of fluoride from fertilizer industry effluent using carbon nanotubes stabilized in chitosan sponge

[Display omitted] •All assays were performed using gas scrubber effluent from the production of fertilizer industry.•Carbon nanotube was anchored onto chitosan sponge and used like adsorbent.•The adsorption capacity for fluoride reach around 975.4 mg g−1 in kinetic assays.•Reuse and regeneration were investigated and 5 cycles were obtained.•The adsorption capacity kept similar values in all cycles. Adsorption of fluoride from fertilizer industry effluent using carbon nanotubes stabilized in chitosan sponge as adsorbent was evaluated. The effluent was produced in the washing of acid gases during the reaction in fertilizer production and all assays were performed using this hazardous material. Adsorbent characterization and ions interactions were elucidated from differential scanning calorimetry, thermal gravimetric analyses, X–ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy dispersive energy X–ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The effluent presented pH 3 and its value not changed in the adsorption assays, maintaining the conditions of the process. The kinetics assays of fluoride from industry effluent were performed in different stirring rates from 100 to 300 rpm. It was observed that adsorption was initially fast reaching the equilibrium at 300 rpm in 20 min. The adsorption capacity was around 975.4 mg g−1, showing the potential of the hybrid material to remove fluoride from a real matrix. The high adsorption capacity was attributed to the chitosan functional groups and the high interaction area promoted by sponge form and the carbon nanotube. Reuse and regeneration of the CNT-CS were investigated and 5 cycles were obtained. The adsorption capacity kept similar values in all cycles.