Silkworm exuviae--a new non-conventional and low-cost adsorbent for removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions

In this paper, silkworm exuviae (SE) waste, an agricultural waste available in large quantity in China, was utilized as low-cost adsorbent to remove basic dye (methylene blue, MB) from aqueous solution by adsorption. Kinetic data and sorption equilibrium isotherms were carried out in batch process. The adsorption kinetic experiments revealed that MB adsorption onto SE for different initial dye concentrations all followed pseudo-second order kinetics and were mainly controlled by the film diffusion mechanism. Batch equilibrium results at different temperatures suggest that MB adsorption onto SE can be described perfectly with Freundlich isotherm model compared with Langmuir and D-R isotherm models, and the characteristic parameters for each adsorption isotherm were also determined. Thermodynamic parameters calculated show the adsorption process has been found to be endothermic in nature. The analysis for the values of the mean free energies of adsorption (E(a)), the Gibbs free energy (ΔG(0)) and the effect of ionic strength all demonstrate that the whole adsorption process is mainly dominated by ion-exchange mechanism, which has also been verified by variations in FT-IR spectra and pH value before and after adsorption and desorption studies. The results reveal that SE can be employed as a low-cost alternative to other adsorbents for MB adsorption.     

Sunflower seed shells: a novel and effective low-cost adsorbent for the removal of the diazo dye Reactive Black 5 from aqueous solutions

In this paper, the potential of two low-cost adsorbents such as sunflower seed shells (SS) and mandarin peelings (MP) in the removal of the synthetic anionic dye Reactive Black 5 (RB5) from aqueous solutions was investigated. SS led to a percentage of dye removal higher than MP (85% and 71% after 210min, respectively, for an initial RB5 concentration of 50mgL(-1) and an initial pH of 2.0). The rate of adsorption followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the intra-particle diffusion was found to be the rate-controlling stage. In addition, the equilibrium data fitted well both the Freundlich and multilayer adsorption isotherm equations indicating the heterogeneity of the adsorbent surface. This was also corroborated by the SEM photographs. On the whole, the results in this study indicated that SS were very attractive materials for removing anionic dyes from dyed effluents.     

An effective adsorbent based on sawdust for removal of direct dye from aqueous solutions

Sawdust, SD, was reacted with Sandene 850 (polyamine) in alkaline medium to yield cationized sawdust. The latter was characterized through its Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectra and nitrogen content. Thus, obtained cationized sawdust was harnessed for removal of Direct Red 23 from aqueous solutions. Adsorption studies were performed under different agitation time, adsorbent and adsorbate concentrations and the onset of this on the adsorption capacity of Direct Red 23 onto cationized sawdust. Langmuir and Freundlich models were applied in the adsorption studies. The study showed that the cationized sawdust is effectively used in adsorption of Direct Red 23 from aqueous solutions.     

A novel agricultural waste adsorbent for the removal of cationic dye from aqueous solutions

In this paper, pineapple stem (PS) waste, an agricultural waste available in large quantity in Malaysia, was utilized as low-cost adsorbent to remove basic dye (methylene blue, MB) from aqueous solution by adsorption. Batch mode experiments were conducted at 30 degrees C to study the effects of initial concentration of methylene blue, contact time and pH on dye adsorption. Equilibrium adsorption isotherms and kinetic were investigated. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich models and the isotherm data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm with monolayer adsorption capacity of 119.05mg/g. The kinetic data obtained at different concentrations were analyzed using a pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equation and intraparticle diffusion equation. The experimental data fitted very well the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The PS was found to be very effective adsorbent for MB adsorption.     

Chemically modified olive stone: a low-cost sorbent for heavy metals and basic dyes removal from aqueous solutions

In the present work, we have investigated the sorption efficiency of treated olive stones (TOS) towards cadmium and safranine removal from their respective aqueous solutions. TOS material was prepared by treatment of olive stones with concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature followed up by a subsequent neutralization with 0.1 M NaOH aqueous solution. The resulting material has been thoroughly characterized by SEM, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), MAS (13)C NMR, FTIR and physicochemical parameters were calculated. The sorption study of TOS at the solid-liquid interface was investigated using kinetics, sorption isotherms, pH effect and thermodynamic parameters. The preliminary results indicate that TOS exhibit a better efficiency in terms of sorption capacities toward the two pollutants (128.2 and 526.3 mg/g for cadmium and safranine, respectively) than those reported so far in the literature. Moreover, the sorption process is ascertained to occur fast enough so that the equilibrium is reached in less than 15 min of contact time. The results found in the course of this study suggest that ion exchange mechanism is the most appropriate mechanism involved in cadmium and safranine removal. Finally, the sorption efficiency of TOS is compared to those of other low-cost sorbents materials yet described in the literature.     

Evaluation of papaya seeds as a novel non-conventional low-cost adsorbent for removal of methylene blue

The feasibility of using papaya seeds (PS), abundantly available waste in Malaysia, for the cationic dye (methylene blue) adsorption has been investigated. Batch adsorption studies were conducted to study the effects of contact time, initial concentration (50-360 mg/L), pH (3-10) and adsorbent dose (0.05-1.00 g) on the removal of methylene blue (MB) at temperature of 30 degrees C. The equilibrium data were analyzed by the Langmuir, the Freundlich and the Temkin isotherms. The data fitted well with the Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 555.557 mg/g. The pseudo-second-order kinetics was the best for the adsorption of MB by PS with good correlation. The results demonstrated that the PS is very effective to remove methylene blue from aqueous solutions.     

Cross-linked quaternary chitosan as an adsorbent for the removal of the reactive dye from aqueous solutions

Adsorption of reactive orange 16 by quaternary chitosan salt (QCS) was used as a model to demonstrate the removal of reactive dyes from textile effluents. The polymer was characterized by infrared (IR), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXS) analyses and amount of quaternary ammonium groups. The adsorption experiments were conducted at different pH values and initial dye concentrations. Adsorption was shown to be independent of solution pH. Three kinetic adsorption models were tested: pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion. The experimental data best fitted the pseudo-second-order model, which provided a constant velocity, k₂, of 9.18 × 10⁻⁴ g mg⁻¹ min⁻¹ for a 500 mg L⁻¹ solution and a value of k₂, of 2.70 × 10⁻⁵ g mg⁻¹ min⁻¹ for a 1000 mg L⁻¹ solution. The adsorption rate was dependent on dye concentration at the surface of the adsorbent for each time period and on the amount of dye adsorbed. The Langmuir isotherm model provided the best fit to the equilibrium data in the concentration range investigated and from the isotherm linear equation, the maximum adsorption capacity determined was 1060 mg of reactive dye per gram of adsorbent, corresponding to 75% occupation of the adsorption sites. The results obtained demonstrate that the adsorbent material could be utilized to remove dyes from textile effluents independent of the pH of the aqueous medium.     

One-step processing of low-cost and superb natural magnetic adsorbent: kinetics and thermodynamics investigation for dye removal from textile wastewater

A simple, one-step and dry hybridization technique was successfully implemented to fabricate superb and low-cost magnetic adsorbent for removal of organic dyes. The structural and textural properties of the prepared banded iron formation @bentonite (BIF@BEN) composite were clearly investigated using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area (BET) and porosity analysis (BJH) techniques. The dye removal efficiency was optimized by studying several parameters, namely, pH, temperature, contact time and initial dye concentration. The maximum adsorption capacity achieved for crystal violet (CV) and acid red (AR) dyes were about 117 and 91 mg/g, respectively at pH 7, 60 °C in 60 min. The equilibrium data of both dyes’ adsorption on the BIF@BEN composite showed better fitting to Langmuir isotherm. The thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption process is spontaneous, endothermic and favorable at high temperatures. The prepared magnetic adsorbent showed higher adsorption performance than activated bentonite for removal of anionic dye (AR) and the same performance for removal of cationic dye (CV). The magnetic adsorbent is actually reused and easily separated from textile wastewater with total removal efficiencies 81% and 74.5% for all inorganic and organic pollutants, respectively after two adsorption cycles.     

Grass waste: A novel sorbent for the removal of basic dye from aqueous solution

The aim of the present work was to investigate the feasibility of grass waste (GW) for methylene blue (MB) adsorption. The adsorption of MB on GW material was studied as a function of GW dose (0.05–1.20 g), solution pH 3–10, contact time and initial concentration (70–380 mg/L). The influence of these parameters on the adsorption capacity was studied using the batch process. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The adsorption isotherm was found to follow the Langmuir model. The monolayer adsorption capacity was found to be 457.640 mg/g. The kinetic data were fitted to the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models, and were found to follow closely the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The results revealed that GW adsorbent is potentially low-cost adsorbent for adsorption of MB.     

Investigation of a basic dye removal from aqueous solution onto chemically modified Unye bentonite

The adsorption behavior of crystal violet (CV⁺) from aqueous solution onto magnesium-oxide coated bentonite (MCB) sample was investigated as a function of parameters such as initial CV⁺ concentration, contact time and temperature. The Langmuir, and Freundlich adsorption models were applied to describe the equilibrium isotherms. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacity of MCB were estimated as 496 mg/g. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order kinetic and the intra-particle diffusion models were used to describe the kinetic data and rate constants were evaluated. The values of the energy (E_a), enthalpy (ΔH^≠) and entropy of activation (ΔS^≠) were 56.45 kJ/mol, 53.90 kJ/mol and −117.26 J/mol K, respectively, at pH 6.5.     

The removal of Basic Blue 3 from aqueous solutions by chitosan-based adsorbent: batch studies

Chitosan-based adsorbent (CHITOD material) is used for the removal of Basic Blue 3 (BB 3) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption of BB 3 on CHITOD material was studied as a function of time, sorbent mass and concentration. The influence of these parameters on the adsorption capacity was evaluated using the batch method. Results of adsorption experiments and kinetic data showed that (i) the CHITOD adsorbent exhibited high sorption capacities toward BB 3; (ii) the Langmuir equation represented the best fit of experimental data; (iii) the dye sorption on material was exothermic and spontaneous in nature; (iv) the kinetic measurements showed that the process was rapid; (v) the adsorption kinetics followed a pseudo-second order model; and (vi) the sorption was dependent on the presence of sulfonate groups. Non-linear method was also found to be more appropriate method for estimating the isotherm and kinetic parameters.     

The removal of basic dyes from aqueous solutions using agricultural by-products

The adsorption of two basic dyes, namely, Malachite Green and Methylene Blue onto both agricultural by-products (i.e. rice bran and wheat bran) has been investigated in this study. The adsorption of both basic dyes was solution pH-dependent. The kinetic experimental data were analyzed using four kinetic equations including pseudo-first-order equation, pseudo-second-order equation, external diffusion model and intraparticle diffusion model to examine the mechanism of adsorption and potential rate-controlling step. The best-fit equation was identified using normalized standard deviation. The Langmuir and Freundich isotherms were used to fit the equilibrium data and the results showed that the Langmuir isotherm exhibited a little better fit to the Methylene Blue adsorption data by both adsorbents while the Freundlich isotherm seemed to agree better with the Malachite Green adsorption. The Gibbs free energy changes at 20 degrees C were calculated and the obtained values supported the conclusion that two dyes molecules adsorbed by physical processes. The effects of particle size, adsorbent concentration and solution ionic strength on the adsorption of the two basic dyes were also studied.     

Characterisation and environmental application of an Australian natural zeolite for basic dye removal from aqueous solution

An Australian natural zeolite was collected, characterised and employed for basic dye adsorption in aqueous solution. The natural zeolite is mainly composed of clinoptiloite, quartz and mordenite and has cation-exchange capacity of 120 meq/100g. The natural zeolite presents higher adsorption capacity for methylene blue than rhodamine B with the maximal adsorption capacity of 2.8 x 10(-5) and 7.9 x 10(-5)mol/g at 50 degrees C for rhodamine B and methylene blue, respectively. Kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption followed the pseudo second-order kinetics and could be described as two-stage diffusion process. The adsorption isotherm could be fitted by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Thermodynamic calculations showed that the adsorption is endothermic process with Delta H(0) at 2.0 and 8.7 kJ/mol for rhodamine B and methylene blue. It has also found that the regenerated zeolites by high-temperature calcination and Fenton oxidation showed similar adsorption capacity but lower than the fresh sample. Only 60% capacity could be recovered by the two regeneration techniques.     

Screening of new sorbent materials for cadmium removal from aqueous solutions

This study compares the abilities of four low-cost materials: peels of peas, broad bean, and medlar, respectively and fig leaves, to remove cadmium from aqueous solutions. Kinetic data and equilibrium sorption isotherms were measured in batch conditions. Kinetics of cadmium sorption was contact time, initial cadmium concentration and sorbent type dependent. The results also showed that the kinetics of cadmium sorption were described by a pseudo second-order rate model. The cadmium uptake of these low-cost materials was quantitatively evaluated using sorption isotherms. Results indicated that Langmuir model gave an acceptable fit to the experimental data. A high cadmium sorption was observed by these materials. The broad bean peel was the most effective to remove cadmium ions with a maximum sorption capacity about 147.71 mg/g followed by peas peel (118.91 mg/g), fig leaves (103.09 mg/g), and medlar peel (98.14 mg/g).     

Hydrated cement: a promising adsorbent for the removal of fluoride from aqueous solution

The present study was carried out to investigate the potential of cement hydrated at various time intervals for the removal of excess F- from aqueous solution by using batch adsorption studies. The influence of different adsorption parameters, viz. effect of adsorbent dose, initial concentration, pH, interfering ions and contact time were studied for their optimization. It was observed that the adsorbent exhibited reasonably significant F- removal over a wide range of pH. The presence of carbonate and bicarbonate ions in aqueous solution were found to affect the F- removal indicating that these anions compete with the sorption of F- on adsorbent. The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted well for both the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms and the adsorption capacities were calculated. Comparative studies for F- removal in simulated and field water show relatively higher F- removal in simulated water. XRD and SEM patterns of the hydrated cement were recorded to get better insight into the mechanism of adsorption process. From the experimental results, it may be concluded that HC was an efficient and economical adsorbent for F- removal.     

Basic dye removal from aqueous solutions by dodecylsulfate- and dodecyl benzene sulfonate-intercalated hydrotalcite

Dodecylsulfate- and dodecyl benzene sulfonate-hydrotalcites were prepared by calcination-rehydratation method. The surfactants intercalation in the interlayer space of hydrotalcite were checked by PXRD and FTIR spectroscopy where the resulting materials were found to be similar to those reported in the literature and were used to remove a basic dye (safranine) from aqueous solutions. The sorption kinetics data fitted the pseudo second order model. The isotherms were established and the parameters calculated. The sorption data fitted the Langmuir model with good values of the determination coefficient. The thermodynamic parameters calculated from Van't Hoff plots gave a low value of Delta G degrees (<-20 kJ mol(-1)) indicating a spontaneous physisorption process. Two regeneration cycles were processed by acetone extraction leading to the same removal capacity of the obtained materials as the original surfactant-intercalated hydrotalcites. The UV-vis spectra of the recovered extracts were similar to the spectrum of safranine, which means that the dye was recovered without any modification.     

Guava (Psidium guajava) leaf powder: novel adsorbent for removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions

Batch sorption experiments were carried out using a novel adsorbent, guava leaf powder (GLP), for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. Potential of GLP for adsorption of MB from aqueous solution was found to be excellent. Effects of process parameters pH, adsorbent dosage, concentration, particle size and temperature were studied. Temperature-concentration interaction effect on dye uptake was studied and a quadratic model was proposed to predict dye uptake in terms of concentration, time and temperature. The model conforms closely to the experimental data. The model was used to find optimum temperature and concentration that result in maximum dye uptake. Langmuir model represent the experimental data well. Maximum dye uptake was found to be 295mg/g, indicating that GLP can be used as an excellent low-cost adsorbent. Pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models were tested. From experimental data it was found that adsorption of MB onto GLP follow pseudo second order kinetics. External diffusion and intraparticle diffusion play roles in adsorption process. Free energy of adsorption (DeltaG degrees ), enthalpy change (DeltaH degrees ) and entropy change (DeltaS degrees ) were calculated to predict the nature of adsorption. Adsorption in packed bed was also evaluated.     

改性膨润土对溶液中Co2+、Mn2+的吸附研究

以膨润土为原材料,盐酸为改性剂,制备改性膨润土。研究了改性膨润土的制备条件,其对重金属Co2+、Mn2+的吸附性能及对苯二甲酸(PTA)工业中的副产品对甲苯甲酸对吸附的影响。实验结果表明,盐酸的最佳改性浓度为1.5mol/L,改性膨润土在40℃的吸附能力最好,可达到12～14mg/g,经过热力学分析得出,改性膨润土对钴离子、锰离子的吸附方式均符合Langmuir吸附模型,PTA工业中的副产品对甲苯甲酸对吸附没有影响。     

Environmentally stable adsorbent of tetrahedral silica and non-tetrahedral alumina for removal and recovery of malachite green dye from aqueous solution

The conventional adsorbents like activated carbon, agricultural wastes, molecular sieves, etc., used for dye adsorption are unstable in the environment for long time, and hence the adsorbed dyes again gets liberated and pollute the environment. To avoid this problem, environmentally stable adsorbent of silica and alumina should be employed for malachite green adsorption. The adsorbents were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to confirm the tetrahedral framework of silica and non-tetrahedral framework of alumina. The adsorption equilibrium of dye on alumina and silica were 4 and 5h, respectively, this less adsorption time on alumina might be due to the less activation energy on alumina (63.46 kJ mol(-1)) than silica (69.93 kJ mol(-1)). Adsorption increased with increase of temperature on silica, in alumina, adsorption increased up to 60 degrees C, and further increase of temperature decreased the adsorption due to the structural change of non-tetrahedral alumina in water. The optimum pH for dye adsorption on alumina was 5 and silica was 6. The dye adsorptions on both adsorbents followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The adsorption well matched with Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms and found that adsorption capacity on alumina was more than silica. The thermodynamic studies proved that the adsorption was endothermic and chemisorptions (DeltaH degrees >40 kJ mol(-1)) on alumina and silica. Recovery of dye on alumina and silica were studied from 30 to 90 degrees C and observed that 52% of dye was recovered from alumina and only 3.5% from silica. The less recovery on silica proved the strong adsorption of dye on silica than alumina.