Removal of Methylene Blue Using Activated Carbon Prepared from Waste Fruit (Orange) Peels

Abstract

AbstractMany industries such as cloth, paper, leather, plastic, and so on produce a significant amount of wastewater with color for a day now. The presence of dye materials has a direct effect on water quality, and the elimination of this form of pollutant is of prime importance. Activated orange peel carbon was prepared and used to extract methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. The impacts of different factors were examined, such as adsorbent concentration (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 g/L), initial MB concentration (100, 200, 300, 400 ppm), temperature (40, 50, 60 ℃), contact time (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 min.), and pH (3, 5, 7, 9, 11). Maximum adsorption has been found to occur at an adsorbent concentration of 0.8 g/L, a dye concentration of 100 ppm, a contact time of 50–60 min, and a Ph of 11. The experimentally collected data were analyzed by a comparative study with commercial activated carbon (CAC), and it can be concluded that activated carbon prepared from orange peel gives a higher percentage of removal as compared to commercial activated carbon at 100 ppm, 60 ℃, 0.8 g/L adsorbent, and pH 11. Results of this study showed that activated carbon made of orange peels could be used as an adsorbent to effectively remove MB from aqueous solutions.KeywordsActivated carbonMethylene blueOrange peelsDye