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Sustainable dye removal from industrial wastewater using marine algae-derived biosorbents and MOF-based hybrid composites

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Abstract

This study presents a comparative investigation of marine algal biomasses (fresh and dried) and a zirconium-based metal–organic framework (UiO-66-NH₂) for the removal of reactive dyes from industrial wastewater. Three widely used textile dyes Reactive Yellow 2 (RY2), Reactive Red 195 (RR195), and Reactive Blue 19 (RB19) were selected as model pollutants. Adsorption experiments were conducted under unified experimental conditions to evaluate the effects of initial dye concentration, solution pH, adsorbent dosage, and contact time. Control experiments at acidic pH confirmed that dye removal occurred predominantly via adsorption rather than precipitation. Adsorption kinetics and equilibrium behaviour were analysed using kinetic models and Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The results demonstrated that dried algal biomass exhibited significantly higher removal efficiencies compared to fresh biomass, reaching up to 96% dye removal, due to enhanced surface area and availability of active functional groups. UiO-66-NH₂ showed high adsorption capacity and stability, particularly under acidic conditions, owing to strong electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding, and π–π stacking. Comparative analysis highlights the advantages and limitations of low-cost marine algal biosorbents relative to advance MOF materials. Overall, the findings provide valuable insight into sustainable, efficient, and scalable strategies for the treatment of dye-contaminated industrial wastewater.

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Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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Acknowledgements

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files. Additional raw data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

Open access funding provided by The Science, Technology & Innovation Funding Authority (STDF) in cooperation with The Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

    Suzan A. R. Abdel‑Razik, Mohamed S. Abdel‑Kareem & Nagwa I. El‑Agawany

  2. College of Pharmacy, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AAST), Abu-Qir, Alexandria, Egypt

    Bassma M. Ali

  3. Environmental Protection and Crises Management Department, Simulators Complex, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AAST), Alexandria, Egypt

    Mona I.A. Kaamoush

Authors

  1. Suzan A. R. Abdel‑Razik
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  2. Mohamed S. Abdel‑Kareem
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  3. Nagwa I. El‑Agawany
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  4. Bassma M. Ali
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  5. Mona I.A. Kaamoush
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Contributions

Suzan A. R. Abdel-Razik (S.A.R.A.) contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, and data curation. Mohamed S. Abdel-Kareem (M.S.A.K.) was responsible for investigation, formal analysis, and validation. Nagwa I. El-Agawany (N.I.E.) contributed to resources, visualization, and writing – review & editing. Bassma M. Ali (B.M.A.) was responsible for writing – original draft, supervision, and project administration. Mona I. A. Kaamoush (M.I.A.K.) contributed to funding acquisition, environmental and sustainability studies, supervision, and writing – review & editing. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Bassma M. Ali.

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Abdel‑Razik, S.A.R., Abdel‑Kareem, M.S., El‑Agawany, N.I. et al. Sustainable dye removal from industrial wastewater using marine algae-derived biosorbents and MOF-based hybrid composites.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-41983-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-41983-5

Keywords

  • Marine algae
  • Metal-organic frameworks
  • Dye removal
  • Biosorption
  • Wastewater treatment
  • Adsorption kinetics
  • Sustainable remediation
  • Textile effluents

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