An economical and effective alternative to commercial activated carbon for treatment of synthetic dye pollution in aquatic environment: surfactant modified waste product of Zostera marina

Abstract

In this study, a novel biosorbent material was created from the waste product of Zostera marina with the surfactant modification (Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide) and tried as a potential alternative to commercial (powdered) activated carbon for the treatment of synthetic dye (Fast green FCF, triarylmethane (anionic) type) pollution in aquatic environment. The treatment capability of biosorbent material was evaluated by the parameter optimization, kinetic, thermodynamic, equilibrium and characterization experiments. The optimum treatment conditions were found to be pH of 3, biosorbent amount of 10 mg, synthetic dye concentration of 15 mg L−1, temperature of 45 °C and operation time of 360 min. It was determined that Elovich model was the most suitable model among the models used to define the biosorption kinetic data. The synthetic dye treatment process was endothermic and spontaneous. Freundlich model best explained the biosorption isotherm data. The biosorbent has very heterogeneous surface with the different functional groups. The treatment capabilities of prepared biosorbent and activated carbon under the same operating conditions were calculated to be 163.075 and 110.635 mg g−1, respectively. Hereby, these experimental findings show that the synthesized eco-friendly and low-cost biosorbent can be a powerful alternative to commercial activated carbon for the purification of synthetic dye pollution in water environment.