Removal of cationic dye (Methylene Blue) from aqueous solution by adsorption on two type of biomaterial of South Morocco

Abstract

Abstract Industrial water pollution has become a very serious problem in many countries. This pollution can cause a variety of environmental effects. To reduce the negative effects of these industrial pollutants, various wastewater treatment methods, in particular physico-chemical treatment, have been developed, specially, the adsorption technique. This study aims to use the new biodegradables adsorbents with two type of Moroccan cactus (Naturel (NC) and Dried Cactus (DC)) in a physico-chemical process of adsorption, for the treatment of textile industry wastewater, and the comparative study of adsorption capacity of these adsorbents was presented. In this study, the adsorption tests were carried out using Methylene Blue, and the results showed a remarkable elimination of this cationic dye. The two adsorbents were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effects of contact time, adsorbent mass and pH were investigated in a batch-adsorption technique. The experimental results of two adsorbents showed that the Methylene Blue adsorption is related to the solution pH of 5.4 and the ambient temperature. Experimental isotherms of adsorption equilibrium results were validated accurately by Langmuir and Freundlich models. The adsorption capacities fitted by the Langmuir model are 3.44 and 14.04 mg/g using NC and DC respectively. All results showed that these adsorbents could be employed as low-cost alternative for removal of cationic dyes from industrial wastewater.