Adsorption studies of etherdiamine onto modified sugarcane bagasses in aqueous solution

•Modified bagasses, SCB 2 and EB, were prepared from succinic anhydride and EDTAD.•SCB 2 and EB were very efficient for the removal of etherdiamine F 2835.•Equilibrium adsorption data were better fitted by the Langmuir model.•Qmax of SCB 2 and EB for etherdiamine adsorption were 869.6 and 1203.5 mg/g.

In this study sugarcane bagasse was modified with succinic anhydride and EDTA dianhydride to obtain SCB 2 and EB adsorbents, respectively. These adsorbents were used to remove etherdiamine, which is used for iron ore flotation from single aqueous solutions. The removal and recovery of etherdiamine is important for environmental and economic reasons due to its toxicity and high cost. The results demonstrated that adsorption of etherdiamine by SCB 2 and EB was better fitted by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model than pseudo-first-order and Elovich models. Adsorption isotherms were better fitted by the Langmuir model rather than the Freundlich, Sips, and Temkin models. The maximum adsorption capacities (Qmax) of SCB 2 and EB for etherdiamine adsorption were found to be 869.6 and 1203.5 mg/g, respectively. The calculated ΔG° values for adsorption of etherdiamine on SCB 2 (−22.70 kJ/mol) and EB (−19.10 kJ/mol) suggested that chemisorption is the main mechanism by which etherdiamine is removed from the aqueous solution for both adsorbents. The high Qmax values showed that SCB 2 and EB are potential adsorbents for recovering the etherdiamine and treating effluents produced from iron ore flotation.