Effective removal of Methylene Blue dye from water using three different low-cost adsorbents

Water pollution has become an environmental problem worldwide as well as local. Dyes represent the raw material in textile, leather, paper and plastic industries and a pollutant or toxic waste in the untreated effluents discharged out from these industries. The adsorption process is one of the most efficient methods for the removal of dye from waste water. The present laboratory model study was carried out to check the effect of three different low-cost adsorbents (such as banana fibre, coconut fibre and sawdust) and their adsorption capacity of Methylene Blue dye from water. While checking with different initial dye concentration for all the adsorbents, the maximum adsorption was observed in 250mgl(-1), and the same concentration followed for further optimization. For optimization, one parameter at a time method was followed at different pH (3.0, 5.0, 7.0, 9.0, and 11), temperature (25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 degrees C), adsorbent dosage (1, 3, 5, 7, and 10%) and contact time (30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, and 210min). The pH7 and temperature 40 degrees C and contact time 120min were found to be optimum. From the results, it is concluded that the coconut fibre showed more dye binding ability compared to the other adsorbents and may prove to be an efficient adsorbent to remove the compound dyes present in the effluents on a large scale.