Abstract
Chlorophyta hydrodictyon africanum was immobilized on a silica gel matrix to improve its mechanical properties. The algae-silica gel adsorbent was used for batch sorption studies of a cationic dye, methylene blue (MB). Optimum adsorption was obtained with a dosage of 0.8 g bio sorbent. Results from sorption studies show that 124.11 mg·g-1 of MB could be adsorbed at an optimum pH of 8 and immobilization of 300 mg per gram silica. Maximum immobilization was 400 mg biomass per gram silica. Sorption capacity increased with an increase in initial dye concentration and reached equilibrium within 30 min. Three models were used to simulate kinetic data and the pseudo–second order model gave a better fit with R2 greater than 0.98 in all cases. Equilibrium studies revealed that the adsorption of MB followed Freundlich isotherm (R2=1.00). Key words: Adsorbent, algae, Langmuir model, Freundlich isotherm.
Highlights
The ever growing population and industrialization has led to environmental disorder as large numbers of xenobiotic compounds are being accumulated (Khataee et al, 2013)
The results show that adsorption processes for methylene blue (MB) are better described by a pseudo-second order kinetics with R2>0.99 in most cases
The present study investigated the adsorption of MB from aqueous solutions using silica gel immobilized C. hydrodictyon africanum
Summary
The ever growing population and industrialization has led to environmental disorder as large numbers of xenobiotic compounds are being accumulated (Khataee et al, 2013). Dye effluent from the textile, pulp and paper industries is one of the major environmental concerns from a toxicological perspective (Ahmaruzzaman, 2009). The industries use dyes and pigments to color their products. Mane et al (2007) reported that the colored effluent from these industries is a dramatic source of aesthetic pollution and perturbation of aquatic life. According to Namasivayam et al (2001) and Waranusantigul et al (2003), dye effluents in receiving streams interfere with transmission of light into streams and reduce photosynthesis. Many dye compounds and their metabolites are either, toxic, carcinogenic or teratogenic (Gong et al, 2007)
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