Adsorptive removal of cationic methylene blue and anionic Congo red dyes using wet-torrefied microalgal biochar: Equilibrium, kinetic and mechanism modeling.

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the adsorption behavior of cationic and anionic dyes of methylene blue (MB) and Congo red (CR) onto wet-torrefied Chlorella sp. microalgal biochar respectively, as an approach to generate a waste-derived and low-cost adsorbent. The wet-torrefied microalgal biochar possessed microporous properties with pore diameter less than 2nm. The optimum adsorbent dosage of wet-torrefied microalgal biochar for MB and CR dyes removal were determined at 1g/L and 2g/L, respectively, with their natural pHs as the optimum adsorption pHs. The determined equilibrium contact times for MB and CR were 120h and 4h, respectively. Based on the equilibrium modeling, the results revealed that Langmuir isotherm showed the best model fit, based on the highest R2 coefficient, for both the adsorption processes of MB and CR using the wet-torrefied microalgal biochar, indicating that the monolayer adsorption was the dominant process. From the modeling, the maximum adsorption capacities for MB and CR were 113.00mg/g and 164.35mg/g, respectively. The kinetic modeling indicated the adsorption rate and mechanism of the dyes adsorption processes, which could be crucial for future modeling and application of wet-torrefied microalgal biochar. From the results, it suggests that the valorization of microalgae by utilizing wet-torrefied microalgal biochar as the effective adsorbent for the removal of toxic dyes with an approach of microalgal biorefinery and value-added application to the environment is feasible.