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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Water and Wastewater Management
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1450485
This article is part of the Research Topic Biological contaminants of concern in water and wastewater: An environmental health perspective View all 11 articles

Green Synthesis of CaO Nanoparticles from Chicken Eggshells: Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Heavy Metal (Pb²⁺, Cr²⁺, Cd²⁺ and Hg²⁺) Adsorption Properties

Provisionally accepted
Hadia Hemmami Hadia Hemmami 1Soumeia Zeghoud Soumeia Zeghoud 1Ilham Ben Amor Ilham Ben Amor 1Ali Alnazza Alhamad Ali Alnazza Alhamad 2Ali Tliba Ali Tliba 2ALI ALSALME ALI ALSALME 3David Cornu David Cornu 4Mikhael Bechelany Mikhael Bechelany 4Ahmed Barhoum Ahmed Barhoum 5*
  • 1 El-Oued University, El Oued, El Oued, Algeria
  • 2 University of Aleppo, Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria
  • 3 King Saud University, Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 UMR5635 Institut Européen des Membranes (IEM), Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
  • 5 Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Chicken eggshells, a common poultry byproduct, are rich in calcium and provide a sustainable source for producing calcium oxide nanoparticles (CaO NPs). Their use in ecofriendly synthesis aligns with the growing emphasis on sustainable materials for environmental and biomedical applications.Objectives: This study develops an eco-friendly method for synthesizing CaO NPs from chicken eggshells, characterizes their physicochemical properties, and evaluates their antibacterial and antifungal activities. It also tests their effectiveness in removing heavy metal ions (Pb²⁺, Cr²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Hg²⁺) from aqueous solutions.Methods: CaO NPs were synthesized by calcining chicken eggshells at 700°C for 7 hours.Comprehensive characterization included analysis of crystalline structure, morphology, optical properties, bandgap energy, chemical composition, and thermal stability. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were tested using the well-agar diffusion method. Batch adsorption experiments evaluated heavy metal ion removal under varying conditions of pH, temperature, stirring time, and adsorbent concentration.Results: The synthesis produced spherical, single-crystal CaO NPs with diameters ranging from 5 to 30 nm and a crystalline size of approximately 20 nm. The nanoparticles had a bandgap energy of about 4.7 eV. Significant antibacterial activity was observed against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli, with increasing inhibition zones correlating with nanoparticle concentration. The CaO NPs also effectively inhibited Candida albicans. For efficient metal ion removal, the optimal conditions were found to be 30 minutes at pH 6 with 40 mg of CaO NPs at 25°C, achieving recovery rates of 98% for Pb²⁺, 97% for Cd²⁺, 97% for Cr²⁺, and 97% for Hg²⁺. For near-complete removal, extending the process to 70 minutes at pH 6 with 40 mg of CaO NPs at 45°C achieved the highest recovery rates: 99% for Pb²⁺, 98% for Cd²⁺, 99% for Cr²⁺, and 99% for Hg²⁺, though this approach involves higher energy and cost.Conclusion: CaO NPs derived from chicken eggshells are effective antibacterial agents and adsorbents for heavy metal removal. These findings highlight their potential for sustainable applications in environmental and biomedical fields.

    Keywords: Biowaste utilization, Eco-friendly materials, Environmental Remediation, wastewater treatment, Heavy metal removal, Nano-adsorbents, Antibacterial Agents

    Received: 17 Jun 2024; Accepted: 10 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Hemmami, Zeghoud, Ben Amor, Alnazza Alhamad, Tliba, ALSALME, Cornu, Bechelany and Barhoum. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ahmed Barhoum, Helwan University, Helwan, Egypt

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.