Removal of cationic dyes from aqueous solution using an anionic poly-gamma-glutamic acid-based adsorbent

Natural polymeric materials are gaining interest for application as adsorbents in wastewater treatment due to their biodegradable and non-toxic nature. In this study, a biopolymer, poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) derived from bacterial sources (Bacillus species) was evaluated for its efficiency in removing basic dyes from aqueous solution. Sorption studies under batch mode were conducted using C.I. Basic blue 9 (BB9) and C.I. Basic green 4 (BG4) as test dyes. Equilibrium process conformed well with the Redlich-Peterson isotherm equation and the monolayer sorption capacity obtained from the Langmuir model was 352.76 and 293.32mg/g for BB9 and BG4 dyes, respectively. The kinetic studies of dye sorption on gamma-PGA gave high coefficients of determination (>0.98) for a pseudo second-order equation. An ion-exchange model, which assumes adsorption as a chemical phenomenon, was also found to fit the kinetic data precisely. The dye sorption largely depended on the initial pH of the solution with maximum uptake occurring at pH above 5. About 98% of the dye adsorbed on gamma-PGA could be recovered at pH 1, which facilitates the reuse of spent gamma-PGA.