Adsorption kinetics for the removal of toxic Congo red dye by polyaniline and citrus leaves as effective adsorbents

Abstract

Abstract This study focusses on the synthesis of polyaniline (PANI) and polyaniline base adsorbent utilizing Citrus limon leaves (CL) powder. The polyaniline base adsorbent with C. limon was synthesized using the same process as polyaniline synthesis, but with the addition of leaves powder. PANI and PANI based adsorbent with C. limon leaves powder (PANI/CL) were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR), UV-Visible spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). This synthesized material was employed for the removal of congo red (CR) dye from industrial wastewater. Furthermore, the Langmuir, Temkin and Freundlich isotherms were also applied to evaluate experimental results. PANI is an efficient adsorbent for CR removal with 71.9 mg/g, while PANI/CL is an efficient adsorbent with 80 mg/g removal of dye according to a comparison of maximal adsorption capabilities. The data concludes that the prepared adsorbents could possibly be employed for the removal of toxic dyes from industrial effluents at large scale and ultimately could help in improving the environment.