Ultrasonication expedited As(III) adsorption onto chitosan impregnated Ni-Fe layered double hydroxide biosorbent: Optimization studies and artificial intelligence modelling.

Chitosan intercalated Ni-Fe layered double hydroxide (Ni-Fe LDH/Ch), prepared by co-precipitation was examined for adsorptive elimination of arsenic (III). Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Dynamic Light Scattering validated the successful synthesis of the composite with enhanced adsorption sites. Maximal As(III) removal was obtained at adsorbent dose 1 gL-1, pH 7, ultrasonication time 30 min, temperature 298 K, and initial arsenic concentration 50 mgL-1. The experimentally obtained values fit the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order dynamics well (R2 > 0.98), while thermodynamic evaluation confirmed exothermic and spontaneous reaction (ΔG = -8.13 kJ mol-1). Further, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and artificial neural network successfully predicted As(III) removal percentage with a high correlation coefficient (R2 > 0.94) and low statistical errors (MSE< 0.002, AARE< 0.063). The prepared material successfully brought down arsenic level by 62% in a natural water sample and showed good reusability up to 5 consecutive treatment cycles. The results recommended that Ni-Fe LDH/Ch has ample potential for arsenic remediation, and further investigations can be carried out for large-scale applications.