Article

Synthesis and Characterization of Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
as an
Adsorbent for p-Nitrophenol Adsorption

Sonya Nurizki Vikandari*
; Fina Ahmad Fitriana, Nia Setiawati, Negi Rahmah Azizia

Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Science, Universitas Perjuangan Tasikmalaya, Tasikmalaya
46115, West Java, Indonesia

A
bstract

p-nitrophenol (PNP) is one of the priority pollutants in the environment because i tis toxic properties
and a persistent organic pollutant (POP)
,
so it requires greater attention in waste treatment to maintain
human health and aquatic ecosystems. Adsorption is one of the pollutant removal methods that has
the
advantage
of
being
simple
and
low-cost.
This
study
aims
to
synthesis
and
characterize
an
alginate/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent and evaluate its performance for PNP removal from
aqueous solutions. Alginate is one of the biosorbents that can be used to adsorb liquid waste, but it has
weak mechanical properties, so it can be modified with PVA to form a beads
adsorbent. The addition of
magnetic Fe
3
O
4
to the adsorbent aims to provide magnetic properties to facilitate the separation of the
adsorbent from the analyte. The adsorbent has been characterized using Fourier Transform Infra Red
Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Delsa™ Nano C
Particle Analyzer. The adsorption of PNP using 0.1 gram of adsorbent using the batch method reached
optimum conditions at pH 6 and a contact time of 120 minutes. The PNP adsorption process followed a
pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetics model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 3.598 mg/g.
These results demonstrate that the developed alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
beads exhibit promising potential as
a magnetically separable adsorbent for the removal of PNP from aqueous systems

Keywords:
Adsorption; alginate; Fe
3
O
4
; p-nitrophenol; PVA

*
Corresponding author
Email addresses:
sonya@unper.ac.id
(SN Vikandari)
DOI: https://doi.org/
10.22437/chp.v10i1.50987
Received
December 08
th
2025;
Accepted
May 17
th
2026;
Available online
June 30
th
2026
Copyright © 2026 by Authors, Published by Chempublish Journal. This is an open access article under the CC BY License
(
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
)
182

Graphical Abstract

Introduction

P-nitrophenol
(PNP)
is
a
priority
pollutant
with
carcinogenic
and
highly
toxic
properties,
recognized
as
a
priority
pollutant
by
the
United
States
Environmental
Protection
Agency
(US
EPA).
PNP is used in various industries, including
pharmaceuticals,
pesticides,
and
dyes,
which
frequently
discharge
waste
into
aquatic systems, raising concerns of human
health
and
aquatic
ecosystems
[1].
Long-
term exposure to PNP can cause symptoms
ranging from skin irritation to more serious
health
problems
such
as
organ
damage,
anemia,
and
respiratory
problems
[2].
Various
methods
have
been
developed
to
remove
PNP,
such
as
photocatalytic
degradation
[3],
oxidation
[4],
catalytic
reduction
[5],
electrocoagulation
[6],
and
adsorption
[7,8].
Among
these
methods,
adsorption is considered the most effective
because
easy
to
do,
highly
efficient,
requires
a
short
time,
does
not
produce
harmful
by-products,
environmentally
friendly, and can reuse the adsorbent [8,9].
However,
the
effectiveness
of
the
adsorption
process
is
highly
dependen
to
the selection of the right adsorbent.

Several
studies
showed
the
use
of
adsorbents for the adsorption of PNP from
waste. The use of activated tea waste (ATW)
as an economical adsorbent because it has
the
potential
to
effectively
remove
PNP
through
physical
interactions
including
hydrogen
bonds
between
the
hydroxyl
groups
in
PNP
and
the
active
functional
groups
in
ATW
[10].
Mesoporous
silica,
aminopropyl-modified
MCM-48,
showed
significant adsorption efficiency for various
nitrophenolic
compounds
with
optimal
performance
at
a
specific
pH
[11].
Adsorption
effectiveness
can
also
be
influenced by other inorganic materials, for
example aluminum combined with reduced
graphene oxide has been shown to increase
the removal efficiency of PNP [12]. The use
of
alginate
beads
as
an
adsorbent
for
nitrophenol
adsorption
with
a
removal
percentage
of
75%
at
neutral
pH
[13].
Alginate/Fe
3
O
4
magsorbent
for
nitrophenol
removal with a removal percentage of 20%
[14].

Alginate
biopolymer
derived
from
brown
algae
can
be
applied
as
an
adsorbent
to
adsorb various types of waste. The chemical
structure
of
alginate
has
carboxyl
and

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SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195

hydroxyl
groups
that
can
increase
its
chelating
properties
and
ionic
capacity
[15,16].
The
use
of
alginate
beads
in
Rusnadi's
research
showed
that
the
immobilization
process
can
increase
the
stability
and
efficiency
of
adsorption
performance [17]. One of the advantages of
alginate
is
its
flexibility
to
be
made
in
various physical forms including gels, films,
or
beads
[18].
Another
advantage
is
that
alginate
is
a
non-toxic
and
biodegradable
biopolymer
compared
to
other
synthetic
adsorbents [16]. However, alginate has the
disadvantage of being rigid and weak, so it
needs
to
be
modified
using
synthetic
polymers
such
as
flexible
and
compatible
polyvinyl alcohol [19, 20].

Polyvinyl
Alcohol
(PVA)
is
a
synthetic
polymer
that
has
high
solubility,
biodegradability,
and
good
chemical
stability.
In
addition,
PVA
is
a
preferred
matrix
because
it
has
a
porous
structure
that allows the substrate to diffuse into the
pores
[21].
Modified
alginate/PVA
beads
have
high
strength
compared
to
alginate
granules
and
non-toxic
effects
when
decomposed
in
water.
The
application
of
Alginate/PVA
in
adsorption
PNP
has
difficulties in the process of transferring or
separating
the
adsorbent
after
adsorption
from the solution, so that magnetic Fe
₃
O
₄
is
needed
to
facilitate
the
separation
of
the
adsorbent
with
the
help
of
an
external
magnetic field after the adsorption process
completed
[17,22].
Modified
alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
has
a
strong
double
cross-linked
structure
so
it
has
high
magnetic stability.

Although alginate and alginate/Fe
₃
O
₄
-based
adsorbents
have
been
studied
for
PNP
removal,
and
alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
composites
have
been
reported
for
other
applications,
studies
specifically
investigating
the
use
of
alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
for
PNP
adsorption
are
still
limited.
Therefore, this study aims to synthesize and
characterize
alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
composite
beads
and
evaluate
their
performance
for
PNP removal. The novelty of this study lies
in
the
integration
of
improved
mechanical
properties
from
PVA
and
magnetic
separability
from
Fe
₃
O
₄
into
an
alginate-
based
system,
which
is
expected
to
enhance adsorption performance

Materials and Methods

Materials

Alginate
(Sigma
Aldrich),
polyvinyl
alcohol
(PVA),
iron
(III)
chloride
hexahydrate
(FeCl
3
.6H
2
O),
iron
(II)
sulfate
heptahydrate
(FeSO
4
.7H
2
O),
p-nitrophenol
(PNP),
ammonium
hydroxide
(NH
4
OH),
hydrochloric
acid
(HCl),
sodium
hydroxide
(NaOH),
calcium
chloride
(CaCl
2
),
boric
acid
(H
3
BO
3
), and distilled water.

Fe
3
O
4
Synthesis

The Fe
3+
solution from solid FeCl
3
.6H
2
O was
mixed
with
the
Fe
2+
solution
from
solid
FeSO
4
.7H
2
O
in
a
2:1
ratio
until
homogeneous.
The
mixture
was
slowly
added
with
NH
4
OH
and
stirred
using
a
magnetic stirrer at 300 rpm for 20 minutes
at 60°C. NH
₄
OH is added until the pH of the
solution
until
base
condition
(pH
±10),
which
is
monitored
using
a
pH
meter.
The
solution
was
filtered
and
washed
with
distilled water. The filtered filtrate was dried
with
oven
at
60°C.
The
presence
of
a
precipitate
indicates
the
successful
formation of magnetic Fe
3
O
4
. [15,20,21]

Preparation of Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4

A
6%
alginate
solution
was
prepared
by
dissolving
6
grams
of
sodium
alginate
in
100 mL of distilled water and stirring using
a magnetic stirrer until homogeneous. A 3%
PVA
solution
was
prepared
by
dissolving
3
grams
of
PVA
in
100
mL
of
distilled
water.

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SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195

The
two
solutions
were
mixed
and
stirred
until
homogeneous.
Fe
3
O
4
(1%
w/v,
equivalent
to
2
g
in
200
mL
of
the
alginate/PVA
mixture)
was
added
into
the
solution and stirred using a stirring rod. The
alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
mixture
was
added
dropwise to a mixture of 2% CaCl
2
and 6%
boric
acid
using
a
pipette
until
alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
beads were formed. The
beads were left in the CaCl
2
solution for 24
hours
and
then
washed
repeatedly
with
distilled water. The beads were dried in an
oven at 60°C [15,23]

Characterization of
Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4

This
characterization
was
carried
out
to
compare
the
condition
of
the
adsorbent
before
and
after
use
in
the
adsorption
process.
The
functional
groups
of
the
adsorbent were characterized using Fourier
Transform
Infrared
Spectroscopy
(FTIR,
IR
Prestige
21)
with
KBr
pellets
at
wavenumbers of 4000-450 cm
-1
. The surface
morphology
of
the
adsorbent
was
characterized
using
Scanning
Electron
Microscopy (SEM, SEM SU3500). The crystal
structure
of
the
adsorbent
was
characterized
using
X-ray
Diffraction
(XRD,
Bruker
D8
Advance
X-Ray
Diffractometer),
and
the
adsorbent
charge
at
several
pH
values
was
analyzed
using
Zeta
Potential
(Horiba SZ-100 Nano Particle Analyzer).

Batch Method

The
adsorption
experiments
were
conducted using a batch method. A specific
volume
and
concentration
of
adsorbent
were
added
to
a
PNP
solution,
then
the
mixture was stirred using shaker at 120 rpm
at
room
temperature.
The
effect
of
pH
(3–
10) was studied using 20 mL of 20 ppm PNP
concentration
and
0.1
gram
of
adsorbent.
The
pH
of
the
solution
was
adjusted using
0.1
M
HCl
or
0.1
M
NaOH.
The
effect
of
contact time (15–360 minutes) was studied
using 20 mL of 20 ppm PNP concentration
and 0.1 gram of adsorbent at optimum pH
conditions.
The
effect
of
adsorbent
mass
(0.01–0.3
grams)
was
studied
at
the
optimum
pH
and
contact
time
conditions.
After the adsorption process, the adsorbent
was
separated
using
an
external
magnet,
and
the
PNP
concentration
was
analyzed
using
a
UV-Vis.
Each
experiment
was
performed in triplicate for all parameters.

Calculation
of
adsorption
capacity
and
adsorption percentage as equation 1 and 2.

(1)

(2)

where q
e
is the adsorption capacity (mg/g),
C
i
is the initial concentration of PNP (mg/L),
C
e
is the equilibrium concentration (mg/L), V
is the solution volume (L), and m is the mass
of the adsorbent (g).

Results and Discussions

FTIR Analysis

The
FTIR
spectra
of
the
adsorbent
before
and after adsorption can be seen in Figure
1.
This
shift
occurs
in
the
O–H
band
from
3220
to
3449
cm
⁻
¹,
indicating
the
involvement
of
hydroxyl
groups
in
hydrogen
bonding
interactions
with
PNP
molecules.
These
results
indicate
that
hydrogen
bonding
interactions
are
one
of
the
mechanisms
that
occur
between
the
hydroxyl
groups
in
the
alginate/PVA
adsorbent
matrix
and
the
phenolic
–OH
groups of PNP. The shift in asymmetric and
symmetric COO
⁻
bands from 1612 to 1602
cm
⁻
¹
and
1431
to
1423
cm
⁻
¹,
indicates
the
presence
of
carboxylic
groups
in
electrostatic interactions. At the working pH
(see the discussion of optimum pH), PNP is
present
in
its
phenolic
form,
which
can

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SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195

interact
electrostatically
with
positively
charged
sites
on
the
adsorbent
surface
or
form
ion-dipole
interactions
with
COO
⁻
groups.
the
formation
of
hydrogen
bonds
and
electrostatic
interactions
between
the
adsorbent
and
PNP.
A
new
band
at
1272
cm
⁻
¹
indicates
the
presence
of
C–O
stretching
of
the
phenolic
group
or
NO
₂
related
vibrations
that
confirm
the
successful
attachment
of
PNP
to
the
adsorbent surface, the presence of PNP on
the adsorbent. In addition, the Fe–O band at
wave
number
555
cm
-1
appears
unclear
after
the
adsorption
process
because
the
Fe
3
O
4
site
is
partially
covered
by
PNP
molecules
as
evidenced
by
SEM
observations,
the
surface
morphology
becomes
rough
and
more
closed
after
adsorption.

Figure 1.
FTIR Spectrum of adsorbent before and after p-nitrophenol adsorption

SEM Analysis

The
surface
morphology
of
the
adsorbent
before
and
after
the
adsorption
process
is
shown
in
Figure
2.
The
surface
of
the
alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent
before
adsorption
is
relatively
inhomogeneous,
rough
and
porous
surface.
This
indicates
the
potential
for
active
sites
on
the
adsorbent
to
interact
with
the
adsorbate
[24].
The
porous
structure
plays
a
role
in
facilitating
the
diffusion
of
the
adsorbate
into
the
adsorbent
matrix
and
increasing
the
intensity
of
interactions
with
surface
functional
groups.
Meanwhile,
the
SEM
image
of
the
alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent
after the adsorption process has a smooth
surface,
indicating
that
the
adsorbate
has
filled
and
covered
the
pores
in
the
adsorbent
[23].
Thus,
the
adsorption
process
occurs
on
the
surface
of
the
adsorbent
pores,
characterized
by
the
formation
of
an
adsorbate
layer
on
the
adsorbent surface [25].

186
SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195
A close-up of a grey object

AI-generated content may be incorrect. A close-up of a grey surface

AI-generated content may be incorrect. A graph of a graph of a graph

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 2.
SEM image of Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent (a) before p-nitrophenol adsorption, (b)
after p-nitrophenol adsorption

XRD Analysis

The
crystal
structure
and
presence
of
magnetite
Fe
₃
O
₄
in
the
adsorbent
can
be
seen
in
Figure
3.
The
XRD
characterization
results show no significant shift in the main
peak of Fe
₃
O
₄
. The diffractogram shows the
main peak at 2θ around 30.1°; 35.5°; 43.2°;
53.6°;
57.1°;
and
62.7°.
The
peak
positions
produced
in
the
X-ray
diffraction
(XRD)
analysis
of
the
sample
show
agreement
with
the
standard
pattern
of
the
Joint
Committee
on
Powder
Diffraction
Standards
(JCPDS)
No.
19-0629,
thus
confirming that the magnetite phase (Fe
₃
O
₄
)
was
successfully
formed
in
the
adsorbent
[26].
The
Diffraction
peaks
indicate
that
Fe
₃
O
₄
has good crystalline properties in the
adsorbent
matrix
[27].
This
crystallinity
indicates
a
stable
atomic
structure
order,
thus
Fe
₃
O
₄
plays
a
role
in
providing
structural stability to the alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
composite. In addition, the presence of the
crystalline
Fe
₃
O
₄
phase
also
has
the
potential
to
provide
active
sites
in
the
adsorption process [28].

Figure 3.
XRD patterns of Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent, pure Fe
3
O
4
, and the standart Fe
3
O
4
diffraction pattern from the JCPDS database

187
SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195

Effect of pH

pH
optimization
was
performed
in
the
pH
range
of
3-10
using
HCl
and
NaOH
solutions.
The
pH
optimization
was
performed
under
conditions
of
20
mg/L
PNP
for
a
contact
time
of
60
minutes,
an
adsorbent mass of 0.1 gram, and a stirring
speed of 150 rpm, as shown in Figure 4. pH
6
is
the
optimum
condition
for
the
PNP
adsorption
process.
The
zeta
potential
measurement
of
alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
adsorbent
at
pH
4 had
a
value
of
-3.3
mV,
pH 6 had a value of -3.7 mV and pH 9 had a
value
of
-11.3
mV.
This
shows
that
increasing pH (increasingly base conditions)
causes
the
surface
of
the
adsorbent
to
be
increasingly negatively charged. At pH 6, the
negative charge on the adsorbent surface is
relatively
low,
while
phenol
does
not
dissociate,
resulting
in
a
balance
between
hydrogen
bonding
and
electrostatic
interactions.
Adsorption
capacity
increases
at pH 3 to 6 because the adsorbent surface
has
a
nearly
neutral
charge,
allowing
it
to
interact with the negatively charged PNP. At
acidic pH, the removal percentage is higher
because
phenol
does
not
dissociate,
and
dispersion interactions are more dominant.
PNP has a pKa of 7.15, indicating that PNP
contains phenolate ions that are negatively
charged
when
they
exceed
the
pKa
value
[7].
So
that
in
base
conditions,
there
is
a
repulsive force between the adsorbent and
PNP,
which
can
reduce
the
adsorption
capacity [29]. The results are in agreement
with
previous
reports
on
the
adsorption
PNP
using
alginate,
that
electrostatic
interaction
between
–COO
⁻
groups
of
alginate
and
protonated
species
of
PNP
plays
an
important
role
in
the
adsorption
process [13,30]

Figure
4.
Effect
of
pH
on
the
removal
efficiency
of
p-nitrophenol
using
Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent.

Effect of Contact Time

Contact time optimization was performed at
various time intervals (15–360 minutes) with
an adsorbent mass of 0.1 gram and a PNP
solution
of
20
mg/L
at
pH
6,
as
shown
in
Figure
5.
The
optimum
contact
time
was
120 minutes. The amount of PNP adsorbed
increased
gradually
until
equilibrium
was
reached.
This
is
because
the
longer
the
adsorption
time,
the
more
active
sites
on
the
adsorbent
surface
will
be
increased,

188
SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195

resulting in more adsorbate being adsorbed
[31].
However,
the
adsorption
capacity
remains constant after reaching equilibrium
because
the
active
sites
of
the
adsorbent
have
completely
interacted
with
the
adsorbate.
Once
the
equilibrium
condition
is reached, this time is used as a reference
for the contact time in the next experiment
[32]

Figure
5.
Effect
of
Contact
Time
on
the
removal
efficiency
of
p-nitrophenol
using
Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent

Effect of Adsorben Mass

The
conditions
for
adsorbent
mass
were
a
25
mL
volume
of
20
ppm
PNP
solution
at
pH 6 and a contact time of 120 minutes. The
mass variation used ranged from 0.05 to 0.3
grams.
Based
on
Figure
6,
the
optimal
adsorbent mass obtained was 0.1 gram and
was
constant
at
the
following
adsorbent
mass. The influence of adsorbent mass can
decrease
the
adsorption
capacity
and
increase the adsorption percentage. As the
adsorbent
mass
increases,
the
number
of
active
sites
increases.
Otherwise,
a
disproportion
between
the
overbalance
amount
of
adsorbent
and
the
PNP
concentration in the solution will reduce the
adsorption capacity [33]

Figure
6.
Effect
of
Adsorbent
Mass
on
adsorption
capacity
and
percentage
removal
of
p-
nitrophenol using Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
.

189
SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195
A graph with a red line and black dots

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Kinetics Adsorption

The adsorption mechanisms used in this
study
were
pseudo-first-order
and
pseudo-second-order
kinetic
models.
The
PNP
concentration
used
was
20
ppm with an equilibrium contact time of
120
min.
The
linearized
form
of
the
pseudo-first-order
kinetic
model
is
expressed
in
Equation
(3)
meanwhile,
the
linearized
pseudo-second-order
kinetic
model
is
described
by
Equation
(4).

(3)

(4)

Where
q
t
is
s
the
amount
of
PNP
adsorbed
by
at
time
(min),
q
ₑ
is
the
amount of PNP adsorbed by adsorbent
at
equilibrium
conditions
(mg/g),
k
1
is
equilibrum
rate
constant
of
pseudo-
first-oder
(min
−1
)
and
k
2
is
the
equilibrum
rate
constant
of
pseudo-
second-order
(g/mg.min).
These
constants
are
obtained
from
the
experimental data plots of log (q
e
-q
t
) vs t
and (t/q
t
) vs t.

Table 1.
PNP adsorption kinetic parameters

Model

R
2

q
e
theoretical

(mg/g)

k
1

(1/min)

k
2

(
g/mg.min)

q
e
experimental

(mg/g)

Pseudo-first-order

0.0185

0.7383

0.00138

-

3.46499

Pseudo-second-order

0.995

3.598

-

0.2631

Figure
7.
Fitting
linear
pseudo
-
first
order
for
p
-
nitrophenol
adsorption
onto
Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4

190
SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195
A graph of a normalized number of data

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure
8.
Fitting
linear
pseudo
-
second
order
for
p
-
nitrophenol
adsorption
onto
Alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
.

Based on Table 1, The pseudo-second-order
kinetic model exhibits a significantly higher
correlation coefficient (R² = 0.995) than the
pseudo-first-order
model
(R²
=
0.0185).
In
addition, the calculated adsorption capacity
(3.598 mg/g) is in close agreement with the
experimental
value
(3.46499
mg/g),
indicating
that
the
adsorption
of
PNP
onto
alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
is
better
described
by
the pseudo-second-order. The pseudo-first-
order
model
is
generally
associated
with
physisorption,
while
the
pseudo-second-
order model is related to chemisorption. In
this
study,
both
models
showed
comparable
R²
values,
indicating
that
the
adsorption
of
PNPs
on
alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
involves
weak
physical
interactions
and
stronger
chemical
bonds
[34].
The
analysis
of
adsorption
kinetics
suggests
that
the
process
is
primarily
controlled
by
chemisorption
occurring
at
heterogeneous
active sites on the adsorbent surface. which
involves
the
sharing
or
exchange
of
electrons
between
the
active
sites
of
the
alginate/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
adsorbent
and
PNP
molecules
in
solution.
The
results
in
line
with
previous
kinetic
studies
on
the
adsorption
of
various
dyes
using
calcium
alginate/activated
carbon
composite
beads
[35].
To
further
evaluate
the
adsorption
performance
of
the
prepared
adsorbent,
a
comparison
with
previously
reported
adsorbents
for
PNP
removal
was
conducted.

Tabel 2.
Comparison of the adsorption of PNP with other reported adsorbents

Adsorbents

Optimum condition

Adsorbent capacity

Kinetic
model

References

Alginate beads

pH = 7; t=12 h; m= 0,22g

0.69 mg/g

-

[13]

Nanographite Oxide

pH = 7; t=2 h; m = 1 g

268.5 mg/g

PSO

[7]

Activated Carbon

-

340; 350; and 365 mg/g

(with different size)

PFO & PSO

[36]

Pili
Nut
Shell
Activated Carbon.

pH=6;
t
=
60
min;
m
=
0,03 g;

190.39 mg/g

PSO

[37]

191
SN Vikandari et al.,
Chempublish Journal, 10(1) 2026, 182-195

Adsorbents

Optimum condition

Adsorbent capacity

Kinetic
model

References

Activated Carbon
produced from Alhagi

pH = 8; t=150 min

17.254 mg/g

PSO

[38]

Alg/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
beads

pH = 6; t = 120 min; m =
0.05 g

3.598 mg/g

PSO

This work

Table
2
presents
the
adsorption
performance of various adsorbents for PNP
removal
reported
in
previous
studies
and
this
work.
It
can
be
observed
that
the
adsorption capacity of Alg/PVA/Fe
₃
O
₄
beads
(3.598
mg/g)
is
lower
than
some
reported
adsorbents
such
as
activated
carbon
and
nanographite
oxide.
However,
the
adsorption
process
follows
a
pseudo-
second-order
kinetic
model,
indicating
that
the
adsorption
mechanism
is
chemisorption.
In
addition,
the
obtained
performance
was
achieved
indicates
that
the
prepared
adsorbent
remains
a
promising
alternative
material
for
PNP
removal.
Furthermore,
the
presence
of
Fe
₃
O
₄
offers
advantages
in
terms
of
magnetic
separation
in
facilitating
the
separation
of
the
adsorbent
from
the
adsorbate.

Conclusions

The
alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent
was
successfully
synthesized
and
characterized
using
FTIR
spectrophotometer,
SEM,
XRD,
and
Zeta
potential.
The
alginate/PVA/Fe
3
O
4
adsorbent successfully adsorbed PNP using
the
batch
method
under
optimum
conditions
at
pH
6,
contact
time
120
minutes,
and
a
PNP
solution
volume
of
25
mL.
The
adsorption
process
followed
a
pseudo-second-order
kinetic
model
with
a
maximum
adsorption
capacity
of
3.598
mg/g
.

Acknowledgement

This
research
is
supported
by
the
Ministry
of
Higher
Education,
Science,
and
Technology
through
the
2025
Kemdiktisaintek
Grant
Programme
for
the
financial
support
provided
to
enable
this
research
to
be
successfully
conducted.
We
also
express
gratitude
to
the
Perjuangan
University of Tasikmalaya and the Bandung
Institute
of
Technology
for
the
facilities
provide during the research program.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization,
Methodology,
SNV;
Validation, Formal Analysisis, SNV. and FAF;
Investigation,
SNV.,
FAF.,
NS.,
NRA.;
Resources,
SNV.;
Data
Curation,
SNV.
and
FAF.;
Writing,
original
draft
preparation,
SNV.;
Writing,
review
&
Editing,
SNV
and
FAF.
All
authors
have
read
and
agreed
to
the published version of the manuscript

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest
.

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