Multicomponent sorptive removal of toxics pyridine, 2-picoline, and 4-picoline from aqueous solution by bagasse fly ash: Optimization of process parameters

The present paper deals with the simultaneous removal of Pyridine (Py) and its derivatives 2-picoline (2Pi) and 4-picoline (4Pi) by adsorption from aqueous solutions using bagasse fly ash (BFA) as an adsorbent. The effect of various parameters, such as adsorbent dose (m), initial pH (pH(0)), contact time (t), initial concentrations (C-0,C-i), and temperature (T), on the simultaneous adsorption of Py, 2Pi, and 4Pi have been studied using Taguchi's design of experimental methodology. Each parameter has been tested at three levels to see their effect on the selected response characteristic, i.e., the total sorptive uptake of Py, 2Pi, and 4Pi, by BFA (q(t0t), mg g(-1)), and the optimal level of each parameter for maximizing q(tot) has been determined. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows that the adsorbent dose, m, is the most significant parameter with 35.65% and 10.50% contribution to the q(tot) and signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio data, respectively. The contribution of interactions between initial concentrations and other parameters is also significant. Confirmation adsorption experiments carried out at the optimal values of the parameters validated the effectiveness of the Taguchi's design of experimental methodology for multicomponent adsorption of organics from aqueous solution. The percent removal (and the sorptive uptake) of Py, 2Pi, and 4Pi was found to be similar to 50% (similar to 12.38 mg g(-1)), similar to 68% (similar to 17 mg g(-1)), and similar to 69% (similar to 17.01 mg g(-1)), respectively, with a total uptake of all the components at optimal conditions being 46.39 mg g(-1).