A systematic study of cellulose-reactive anionic dye removal using a sustainable bioadsorbent

Cellulose-reactive anionic dyes are one of the dominant colorants used in textile finishing. Unfortunately, they also produce large quantities of wastewater that must be treated before discharge, demanding low-cost and sustainable adsorbents that can easily be implemented, especially for developing countries with thriving cotton based textile sectors. In this study, a high specific surface area (670 m2/g) water hyacinth root powder (WHRP) bioadsorbent that is neither carbonized nor activated was prepared to remove cellulose-reactive anionic blue dye from an aqueous solution. The effect of adsorption pH (pH = 2-8), adsorbent dose (1 g/L-6 g/L), dye concentration (50 mg/L-500 mg/L), adsorbent particle size (50 mu m- 1000 mu m), mixing speed (100 rpm-200 rpm), and adsorption temperatures (22 C- 60 C) were systematically studied. It was found that the protonation of lignin polyphenols in WHRP at pH = 2 was responsible for the observed high (~99%) adsorptive removal of reactive blue dye. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacity was 128.8 mg/g when 1 g/L WHRP and 500 mg/L dye concentration were used. In addition, adsorption isotherms, kinetic models, and adsorption thermodynamics were investigated. Increasing adsorbent dose, decreasing adsorbent particle size, increasing mixing speed, and lowering temperature favored the adsorption of reactive dye to WHRP adsorbent. The batch adsorption data were best fitted with both Langmuir and Temkin models, especially at 22 C, while the adsorption kinetic behavior was described best using pseudo-second-order kinetics. Adsorption of cellulose reactive blue dye to WHRP was spontaneous as characterized by the negative Gibbs energy (-11 kJ/mol to-24 kJ/mol) and exothermic with negative enthalpy (-13 kJ/mol to-23 kJ/mol). The overall adsorption process was controlled by more than one mechanism since the intraparticle diffusion was not the only rate limiting step under our experimental conditions. Taken together, the abundantly available and sustainable WHRP is an efficient adsorbent that could be scaled up for treating cellulose-reactive dye-contaminated water.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the efficient removal of cellulose-reactive anionic dyes using water hyacinth root powder (WHRP) bioadsorbent. By adjusting adsorption conditions such as pH, adsorbent dose, dye concentration, particle size, mixing speed, and temperature, the adsorption performance can be effectively enhanced. The adsorption process exhibits spontaneity and exothermicity in terms of Gibbs free energy and enthalpy, and is controlled by multiple mechanisms.