The Biosynthesis of Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles: An Eco-Friendly Approach for Azo Dye Decolorization and Industrial Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater is one of the major concerns for agriculture, and the composition of wastewater depends on its origin. Generally, industrial wastewater consists of azo dyes and heavy metals that contaminate the food chain. In this study, nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NPs) were biosynthesized from Shewnella spp. and characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Azo dye decolorization indicated that NiO-NPs decolorize methylene blue (MB) (82.36%), Congo red (CR) (93.57%), malachite green (MCG) (91.05%), reactive black 5(RB5) (55.17%), reactive red-II(RR-II) (55.45%), and direct blue-I(DB-I) (59.94%) at a dye concentration of 25 mg L −1 after 4 h of sunlight exposure. Additionally, the rate of decolorization was also examined for a 50 mg L −1 concentration of dye. In order to investigate the photocatalytic potential of NiO-NPs, different dyes were also subjected to static and shaking conditions for dye decolorization. The treatment of industrial wastewater with NiO-NPs showed a significant reduction in pH from 8.5 to 6.1, EC (48.38%), chemical oxygen demand (49.24%), total dissolved solids (67.05%), sulfates (52.5%), and phosphates (49.49%). The results of this study indicated that biosynthesized NiO-NPs are an attractive choice for azo dye degradation and industrial wastewater treatment, and they can help save the depleted natural resources of water for agricultural purposes.