Ceramic adsorbent material in removing reactive blue bf 5G dye from synthetic wastewater

Abstract

This work evaluated the removal of the reactive blue BF 5G dye in Ceramic Adsorbent Material (CAM) prepared from Water Treatment Sludge (WTS). The CAM disks were treated at 480 °C. The materials were characterized regarding pH, electrical conductivity, moisture, solid and granulometric fraction, TGA, DSC, XRF, XDR, FTIR, SEM, BET and pH-PZC. The characterization reveals that CAM presented chemical and mineralogical composition promising for adsorption, with negative zeta potential, and a microporous and rough surface. Besides, the CAM has proven safe to produce and apply according to solubilization tests. The adsorption efficiency was evaluated regarding the effect of the pH, concentration of dye, number of CAM disks, and contact time. The best performance was achieved at pH3, with efficiency higher than 80 % after 48 h of treatment using 1 CAM disk and dye concentration between 1 and 30 mg·L−1. The equilibrium time varied between 24 h and 48 h according to the dye concentration. Kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic analyses showed that dye is spontaneously retained in the CAM by monolayer physisorption. This work shows that CAM can effectively remove the reactive blue BF 5G dye until the absence of color, which allows its correct disposal in the environment. Thus, this manuscript presents the preparation and application of a novel material, obtained from WTS, with potential to treat textile wastewater.