Potential use of bagasse and modified bagasse for removing of iron and phenol from water

The potential of bagasse, chemically modified and thermally charring bagasse for iron and phenol adsorption were studied. Graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile onto cellulosic material derived from bagasse in heterogeneous medium can be initiated effectively with Fe+2/H2O2. The effect of initiator and monomer concentration as well as grafting time and temperature were investigated. The grafted products were evaluated with FTIR and their iron and phenol adsorption from water.The results obtained for both phenol and iron adsorptions were dependent on the nature of adsorbent, which had been changed according to the type of modification carried out on bagasse adsorbent. The extent of iron adsorption is less than that of phenol for all adsorbents and for certain adsorbent (phenol or iron) the ranking of adsorbent efficiency is charred > grafted > bleached > unbleached > raw material.The results showed that the equilibrium data for iron and phenol-sorbent systems fitted the Freundlich model best within the concentration range studied.