Kinetic and equilibrium studies of decolorization of effluent of handmade paper industry by low-cost fly ash

Abstract

AbstractHandmade paper is famous for its bright color made by single dye or admixture of dyes. Handmade paper industry emits colored effluent which requires cost-effective treatment technologies. In the scope of the present paper, studies have been conducted with a simulated dye solution having a mixture of dyes being used in the handmade paper industry. The original fly ash and adsorbed fly ash were characterized for SEM-EDX, XRD, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies. The FTIR studies of direct dyes used in mixture (direct orange, direct navy blue, and direct violet dye) were conducted. The batch studies were conducted with low-cost fly ash and various affecting parameters, i.e. pH, initial concentration, temperature of the dye solution, dosage, and particle size of fly ash. The maximum adsorption capacity of fly ash was found to be 120.48 mg/g with fly ash dosage of 40 g/L having particle size of 45–75 μm with dye solution at pH 2 and 40°C temperature. The better coefficient value of R2 showed ...