A Novel Approach to Prepare Cellulose-g-Hydroxyapatite Originated from Natural Sources as an Efficient Adsorbent for Heavy Metals: Batch Adsorption Optimization via Response Surface Methodology

[Image: see text] In the present research, we describe a novel approach for in situ synthesis of cellulose microfibrils-grafted-hydroxyapatite (CMFs-g-HAP(N) (8%)) as an adsorbent using phosphate rock and date palm petiole wood as alternative and natural Moroccan resources. The synthesized CMFs-g-HAP(N) (8%) was extensively characterized by several instrumental techniques like thermogravimetry analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. The developed adsorbent was used to remove Pb(II) and Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. The influences of different adsorption parameters such as contact time, initial metal concentration, and amount of adsorbent were also investigated thoroughly using response surface methodology in order to optimize the batch adsorption process. The results confirmed that the adsorption process follows a polynomial quadratic model as high regression parameters were obtained (R(2) value = 99.8% for Pb(II) and R(2) value = 92.6% for Cu(II)). According to kinetics and isotherm modeling, the adsorption process of both studied ions onto CMFs-g-HAP(N) (8%) followed the pseudo-second-order model, and the equilibrium data at 25 °C were better fitted by the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacities of the CMFs-g-HAP(N) (8%) adsorbent toward Pb(II) and Cu(II) are 143.80 and 83.05 mg/g, respectively. Moreover, the experiments of multicycle adsorption/desorption indicated that the CMFs-g-HAP(N) (8%) adsorbent could be regenerated and reused up to three cycles. The high adsorption capacities of both studied metals and regeneration performances of the CMFs-g-HAP(N) (8%) suggest its applicability as a competitive adsorbent for large-scale utilization.