NaOH-treated dead leaves of Ficus racemosa as an efficient biosorbent for Acid Blue 25 removal

A novel biosorbent synthesized from Ficus racemosa leaves based on the treatment using NaOH was applied for removal of Acid Blue 25 from aqueous solution. The synthesized biosorbent was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. NaOH treatment was demonstrated to remove lignin content from the biomass and to induce the development of significant pores. Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of important operating parameters such as pH (range of 2-10), biosorbent dose (range of 1-10 g/L), contact time (range of 0-5 h), initial dye concentration (range of 50-400 mg/L) and temperature (range of 293-323 K) on the extent of removal of Acid Blue 25. The established optimum conditions were pH of 2, biosorbent dose of 4 g/L, contact time of 3 h and temperature of 323 K, yielding maximum removal of dye. Pseudo-second-order model was found to best fit the kinetic data. Langmuir and Temkin isotherm models were found to best fit the equilibrium data. The obtained thermodynamic parameters confirmed endothermic and spontaneous nature of adsorption. The study established the utility of novel biosorbent for removal of Acid Blue 25 with higher adsorption capacities (83.33 mg/g) as compared to the more commonly used adsorbents. Desorption-adsorption studies conducted for seven cycles indicated potential reusability of synthesized biosorbent for the treatment of dye effluents.