Development of aminated poly(glycidyl methacrylate) nanosorbent by green gamma radiation for phenol and malathion contaminated wastewater treatment

Green gamma (γ) radiation technology is used for the synthesis of quaternary amine-functionalized polymeric (NPGMA) nanosorbent resin from the reaction of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) monomer and triethylamine precursors. Response surface methodology (RSM) in combination with regression modeling and ANOVA statistics were used to evaluate and optimize the NPGMA adsorption conditions for phenol and malathion pollutants from artificial wastewater containing inorganic constituents of an actual water system. The pseudo-second-rate equation assisted by surface diffusion with a monolayer and endothermic processes described the mechanism of phenol and malathion adsorption by NPGMA nanosorbent well. The selectivity coefficient of NPGMA towards malathion is found to be higher than phenol by 34-46 times with optimum capacities of 47.26 mg/g and 66.83 mg/g for phenol and malathion and good reusability. An increasing of divalent inorganic moieties including SO42− group is found to have a low antagonistic effect on the adsorption capacity by NPGMA. Further, the total treatment cost can be estimated to be 2.91-3.19$/cubic meter of wastewater containing concentrated 100 mg/L of phenol and malathion contaminants, assuming that the NPGMA sorbent is reused three times successively. Overall, it can be inferred that the prepared NPGMA nanosorbent by gamma radiation can efficiently treat both industrial and agricultural wastewaters for better control of water pollutions.