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Keywords
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Wastewater treatment, Green photocatalyst, PET, Methylene blue, RSM methodology
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Abstract
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Due to the global water crisis, water reclamation has been at the heart of consideration by the
scientific communities in recent years. The main objective of this study was the synthesis of a green
and sustainable photocatalyst from waste, specifically polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles, for
the efficient removal of methylene blue (MB). The characterization of the novel MWCNT@g-C₃N₄@
Ag photocatalyst was carried out using FESEM, EDS-MAP, Raman, XRD, and DLS analysis. The
optimization approach, based on Response Surface Methodology (RSM), demonstrated that the pH
and initial concentration were the primary factors in improving MB degradation. Also, increasing the
photocatalyst dosage and reaction time were appropriate for MB wastewater treatment. Furthermore,
the predicted values showed strong agreement with the experimental results, with R2 =0.95,
Adj-R2 =0.93, and a p-value of less than 0.0001. The optimized values were found to be a wastewater
concentration of 12.6 mg L−1, pH of 9, photocatalyst dosage of 0.52 g L−1, and a reaction time of
231 min, achieving a removal efficiency of 99.89%. MWCNTs@g-C3N4@Ag demonstrated superior
photocatalytic performance compared to the as-prepared multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs).
Consequently, MWCNTs@g-C3N4@Ag can be recommended as a promising photocatalyst for MB
degradation in wastewater due to its environmental friendliness, low-cost precursors, and excellent
wastewater purification performance.
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