Anthill clay activated Ocimum gratissimum extract for effective adsorption of methylene blue and chromium (VI) ion from wastewater: Insights into the adsorption isotherms, kinetics, thermodynamics, and mechanisms

The removal of methylene blue (MB) dye and hexavalent chromium (Cr(Vl)) ions from water bodies have necessitated the search for a promising adsorbent material with high adsorptive performance, facile operation, and economical. Here, a novel adsorbent was prepared by activating anthill clay (AC) with Ocimum gratissimum leaf extract (OG@AC) by ultrasonic strategy method to eliminate MB and Cr(Vl) from the aqueous environment; however, the activation strategy serves as an important factor that influenced the adsorptive performance towards MB and Cr(Vl). Furthermore, a high BET surface area of 120.48 m²/g was measured for OG@AC which is attributed majorly to the green activation strategy. The SEM micrograph of OG@AC was seen to have displayed a leaf-like plate formed by quartz and kaolin. In the batch experimental study, the MB and Cr(Vl) adsorption capacities towards OG@AC were determined to be 227.52 and 143.45 mg/g, respectively. Also, the adsorption kinetics and isotherms models results revealed that the adsorption process of OG@AC towards MB and Cr(Vl) was best described by pseudo-first-order and Freundlich models, suggesting that the adsorption process involves a multilayer physisorption. Moreso, thermodynamic results revealed the adsorption process is feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic in nature. The OG@AC exhibited an outstanding regeneration ability and stability towards MB and Cr(Vl) by maintaining a removal efficiency of 79.11 % and 81.20 % even at the tenth successive adsorption-desorption cycles. Overall, this research sheds more insight on how anthill clay is activated using a feasible design and green chemical (Ocimum gratissimum leaf extract) to enhance its adsorptive performance towards MB and Cr(Vl), which can broaden its wide application in the real world.