Abstract
Background: Dye contamination of natural water system is a severe problem due to the considerable enhancement in the industrial activities. As the dyes are highly visible, nonbiodegradable, and toxic in nature, they are considered as a severe source of water pollution. Therefore, it is imperative to develop an inexpensive, simple, effective, and easy technique for their elimination from wastewater.
Methods: Luffa aegyptiaca peel (LuAP), kitchen waste was exploited as a low-priced biosorbent for the adsorptive elimination of cationic methylene blue (MB) dye. The influence of several batch parameters, i.e., adsorbent dose, pH of the solution, initial dye concentration, adsorbate/adsorbent contact time, and temperature were optimized for maximum adsorption of MB from aqueous media. Furthermore, thermodynamics, kinetics, and isotherm studies were also carried out in order to comprehend the dominant mechanism for the adsorptive elimination of MB.
Results: The kinetic data for the adsorption of MB onto the LuAP followed closely by the pseudosecond- order (PSO) kinetics, and the adsorption equilibrium data were observed to be well demonstrated by Langmuir isotherm. The equilibrium was attained in 180 min with maximum sorption capacity of 52.63 mg/g at an adsorbent dose of 3 g/L, pH of 7, and temperature of 303 K. Thermodynamic study reveals that the removal of MB by LuAP is spontaneous and endothermic.
Conclusion: It has been concluded that LuAP can be efficiently utilized for the confiscation of cationic MB dye from polluted water.
Keywords: Adsorption, agricultural waste, dye removal, Luffa aegyptiaca peel, methylene blue, wastewater treatment.
Graphical Abstract
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