Adsorption Kinetics of Malachite Green and Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solutions Using Surfactant-modified Organoclays

The main objective of this research is to study the adsorption behaviour of malachite green and methylene blue dyes onto the surfactant modified natural clays. The results of SEM, XRD, IR, and thermal analysis confirms the intercalation of organic moiety in to the clay. The adsorption results show that pseudo-first order kinetics best fitted for both the dyes adsorbed on organo-clay. The data also reveals that both dyes are in a good agreement with Langmuir isotherm in both types of modified clays. The value of separation factor, R-L, from Langmuir equation and Freundlich constant, n, give an indication of favourable adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity q(m) based on Langmuir model was found to be 294-303 mg/g at 25 degrees C, is in good agreement with the experimental values.