Sustainable removal of hydrocarbon contaminants in refinery wastewater with metal-organic frameworks

Abstract

In this study, a novel method for removing organic pollutants from refinery wastewater (RWW) using a newly synthesised metal-organic framework (MOF) composed of ammonium molybdate and imidazole ligands was proposed. The MOF material was prepared using a solvothermal method and fully characterised by surface area analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Structural analysis showed that the developed MOF material has high crystallinity, a layered structure, and relatively uniform elemental distribution. Although no obvious porous structural features were observed in the SEM images, the presence of surface irregularities and interparticle voids indicated potential for effective adsorption. Among the synthesised materials, AM-I MOF showed excellent performance, removing 81% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in simulated wastewater. The best adsorption effect was achieved under conditions of pH 5, 20°C, 20 minutes of contact time, and 0.05 g of adsorbent dosage. The adsorption process was analyzed using kinetic and isotherm models. Results showed that adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, while the Langmuir isotherm best fit the experimental data. These findings highlight the potential of ammonium molybdate-imidazole MOF as an efficient, sustainable adsorbent for industrial RWW treatment.

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