Applied Chemistry Today

Applied Chemistry Today

Removal of toxic methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions using activated carbon prepared from oak fruit waste: Kinetic and thermodynamic studies

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Department of Chemistry Education, Farhangian University, P.O. Box 14665-889, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Increasing industrial activities and subsequent discharge of untreated wastewater containing dyes into wastewater can cause problems such as reduced light penetration, anaerobic conditions, allergies, various skin diseases, and cancer. Therefore, removing these dyes is essential to protect the environment. In this study, the preparation of activated carbon prepared from oak fruit waste and its efficiency for removing the toxic dye methylene blue from aqueous solutions were investigated. The characteristics of the prepared adsorbent were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), porosity and effective surface area (BET) measurements, and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and it was used as an effective adsorbent for removing the toxic dye methylene blue from aqueous solutions. The optimal conditions were obtained using 2.2 g of adsorbent, 10 mg/L of methylene blue dye, a contact time of 56 min and a pH of 8. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models were used to describe the adsorption equilibrium of methylene blue dye. Conclusion: According to the obtained data, the maximum adsorption capacity for the prepared activated carbon was 131.57 mg/g. The equilibrium data were best described by the Langmuir model. The kinetics of the process were successfully fitted with a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters indicate that the adsorption process is endothermic and spontaneous.
Keywords
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