Abstract
Biomass of algae is a very potent adsorbent for absorbing aqueous waste containing heavy metals and organic dyes. This study purposes to confirm the ability of adsorbents from green algae Nannochloropsis sp. modified with silica (ASN) and followed by coating magnetite particles (ASN-MPs) to absorb simultaneously the mixture of Methylene Blue (ME) and Cu(II) cations in aqueous solution. Simultaneous sorption of ME and Cu(II) cations to ASN and ASN-MPs was carried out by the batch method with the interaction pH condition 7, contact time 90 min, and initial concentrations of ME and Cu(II) cations (0.1–1.0 mM). Based on adsorption data, Cu(II) cations have a greater adsorption rate and capacity (qm) compared to ME at the same contact time and initial concentration. The adsorption capacity (qm) values of the bi-component ME and Cu(II) cation mixture in ASN and ASN-MPs were 1.39 × 10− 1 and 5.32 × 10− 1 mmol g− 1, respectively, with the binary Langmuir adsorption isotherm constant for Cu(II) cations greater than ME. Modified adsorbent from algae Nannochloropsis sp. with silica matrix and magnetite particle coating is an adsorbent that has a high effectiveness in the collective sorption of ME and Cu(II) cations. Therefore, these adsorbents can be used for the adsorption of cation mixtures of heavy metals and organic dyes that are cationic in solution.
Highlights
Organic dyes and heavy metals are sources of pollutants that are often found in the environment, especially in waters
To find out the success of the modification process of Nannochloropsis sp. algae using silica matrix and magnetite particle coating, identification of the adsorbent functional groups was carried out using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)
Absorption bands were seen in wavenumbers 3448.7–3442.7 cm− 1 originating from hydroxyl groups (−OH) and 1658.8–1651.1 cm− 1. This shows that there has been a hybridization between Nannochloropsis sp. and silica matrix
Summary
Organic dyes and heavy metals are sources of pollutants that are often found in the environment, especially in waters. Several methods have been developed to reduce pollution from aqueous waste in the form of physicochemical technology including ion exchange, coagulation, flocculation, chemical oxidation, electrochemical techniques, membrane separation, adsorption, and photocatalysis which have been applied for the purpose of removing dyes and metal ions from wastewater [3,4,5,6]. From some of these technologies, the adsorption method is more often used for the treatment of aqueous waste containing heavy metals or hazardous dyes. This is done with the consideration that the process of adsorption
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