The New Identity of Alginate Composite with Bentonite as a Sustainable Catalytic Natural-Based Material: Methylene Blue Decolorization in Continuous Flow-Packed-Bed Reactor

Abstract

The new identity of alginate composites with bentonite as sustainable catalytic natural-based material for methylene blue (MB) decolorization in a continuous flow-packed-bed reactor was investigated. The small-scale materials were produced by drop-wise coupled freeze drying with natural organic raw ingredients, namely bentonite and alginate. The decolonization experiments were conducted by manipulating the bed depth, flow rate, and temperature systematically. The evaluation revealed that a substantial 66 mm diameter and a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min were required to attain a high removal effectiveness (99%) of continuous MB-colored dyes at a temperature of 45 °C. Alginate-based composites were very appropriate because of their facile manufacture, cost-effectiveness, biocompatibility, renewability, easy separability, absence of secondary pollutants, and ecological benignity. Estimation of the cost and environmental impact of raw material supply and processing were evaluated by using embodied energy and embodied CO₂ criteria. The implementation of scale adjustments and material supply was anticipated to result in a reduction of overall expenses. Regarding the environmental impact of the material, the embodied energy values for our alginate-clay production process confirmed that freeze-drying had the highest proportion, similar to cost analysis. In summary, products based on alginate showed potential for effective decolorization in the dye industry. Further research was required to thoroughly assess the technical and commercial viability of these materials, including their unique material properties and appropriate manufacturing methods.