Application of potato (Solanum tuberosum) plant wastes for the removal of methylene blue and malachite green dye from aqueous solution

Dye pollutants from the textile, paper, and leather industries are important sources of environmental contamination. In the present study an agricultural waste from potato plant (potato stem powder, PSP and potato leaves powder, PLP) was used as an adsorbent for removal of the methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) dyes from aqueous solution. The adsorbent materials were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Batch experiments were performed to investigate the effect of physico-chemical parameters, such as pHpzc, ionic strength, adsorbent dose, contact time, initial dyes concentration and temperature. The kinetics of adsorption was studied by applying the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models. The pseudo-second order model better represented the adsorption kinetics and the mechanism was controlled by surface adsorption and intraparticle diffusion. Equilibrium data were analyzed using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The thermodynamic parameters such as change in enthalpy (Delta H degrees), entropy (Delta S degrees) and Gibb's free energy (Delta G degrees) of adsorption systems were also determined and evaluated. (C) 2011 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.