Adsorption of basic dye onto palm kernel shell activated carbon: sorption equilibrium and kinetics studies

Abstract

Adsorbents prepared from palm kernel shell, an agricultural waste product, were used to remove a dye, Basic Blue 9, from an aqueous solution in batch mode at a constant temperature of 28 °C. The sorption kinetics and equilibrium of basic dye onto palm kernel shell activated carbon (PKSAC) were studied. The isotherm data were well described by the Redlich–Peterson isotherm model, with constants obtained from non-linear regression. The sorption kinetics are well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. These studies suggested that PKSAC could be used as low-cost alternatives in wastewater treatment for dye removal.