APPLICATION OF HALLOYSITE GEOPOLYMERS TO REMOVAL OF METHYL BLUE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Abstract

Disposal of industrial wastewater from the dyeing industry is an important issue due to the negative impact of wastewater from the dyeing industry on the environment, as well as the lack of universal methods of disposal of this type of wastewater. The paper defines the ability to use geopolymers obtained from halloysite as an adsorbent for the removal of the methyl blue (MB) from an aqueous solution. The influence of initial MB concentration, contact time, and pH on the efficiency of methyl blue removal from aqueous solutions was assessed experimentally. The balance and kinetics of MB sorption on geopolymers obtained from halloysite were described. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy technique was used to determine the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of MB. The applied geopolymers show high MB removal efficiency at the level of about 90%, which increases with the increase of its concentration and the time of the sorption experiment. The results indicated that the highest efficiency of dye removal was found at pH ≥ 9. The sorption process occurs according to the Langmuir model, according to the kinetic equation of the pseudo-final order. The photocatalytic MB degradation process can be classified as Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). The process proposed in the paper is simple and economical and the results can be used to remediate industrial wastewater from the dye industry contaminated with MB.