sustainable and reusable methylated wood waste powder: an eco-friendly solution for efficient removal of 2-methylisoborneol from water

This study introduces a sustainable adsorbent derived from methylated wood waste for the efficient removal of 2-methylisoborneol (2-mib), a pervasive taste and odor compound that compromises water quality and challenges treatment processes. chemical modification via dimethyl sulfate-mediated methylation in alkaline aqueous-ethanol significantly enhanced hydrophobicity and adsorption performance. gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (gc–ms) analysis revealed 95% 2-mib removal under optimized conditions (0.10 g dosage, 10 min, ph 7.0). the adsorption followed a langmuir isotherm (r² = 0.962), indicating monolayer adsorption on homogeneous sites with a 9.31 ng/g capacity. the adsorbent retained an efficiency of over 90% after three regeneration cycles. compared to commercial powdered activated carbon (pac), it reduces equilibrium time by 50% and dosage requirements by 40%, while cutting carbon emissions by 30% through waste valorization. this work establishes methylated wood waste as an eco-friendly, high-performance solution for 2-mib mitigation in water treatment.