Elimination of methyl violet 2B dye from water using Citrus limetta leaves-activated carbon modified by copper-ferrite nanoparticles

In this study, activated carbon (AC) was prepared by calcination of Citrus limetta leaves and then modified by copper-ferrite nanoparticles (CuFe2O4). Afterward, AC/CuFe2O4 composite was used to remove methyl violet 2B (MV2B) dye from aqueous solution. Structural properties of AC/CuFe2O4 composite was determined by BET, SEM, EDX/Mapping, FTIR, Raman, TGA and DLS analyses. The specific surface area of the AC/CuFe2O4 composite was obtained 91.4 m(2)/g. Also, the maximum uptake efficiency of MV2B dye was obtained to be 97.85%, which achieved at pH 7, contact time of 120 min, temperature of 25 degrees C, initial dye concentration of 10 mg/l and adsorbent dosage of 10 g/L. Moreover, the kinetic study showed that the adsorption data are more consistent with the quasi-second order kinetic model (R-2 = 0.999). In addition, the Freundlich model (R-2 = 0.981) better described the equilibrium behavior of the sorption process. Furthermore, the maximum uptake capacity was obtained to be 80.65 mg/g, which is a significant amount. Besides, thermodynamic data showed that the adsorption of MV2B using the AC/CuFe2O4 composite was spontaneous and exothermic. Also, the reusability of the AC/CuFe2O4 composite showed that the composite can be reused for up to four cycles.

Automated summary

In this study, activated carbon derived from Citrus limetta leaves was modified with copper-ferrite nanoparticles to create an AC/CuFe2O4 composite, which showed effective removal of MV2B dye from aqueous solution. The composite had a specific surface area of 91.4 m(2)/g and achieved a high adsorption efficiency for MV2B dye under specific conditions.