The usage of palm (Washingtonia filifera) fibers for the removal of crystal violet from synthetic dye solution by adsorption

Abstract

The objective to obtain cheap and easily synthesized adsorbents from natural materials is gaining importance day by day. Adsorbents should be environmentally friendly, non-toxic, easily produced, insoluble in water, have a porous structure, have a large surface area, and be scientifically accepted. In this study, the removal of crystal violet dye from synthetic dyestuff solution was investigated using palm tree (Washingtonia filifera) fibers. In order to determine the contact time, the first set of experiments employed 0.5 g of palm fibers and initial dye concentrations between 2.5-160 mg/L. As a result of the study, it was determined that the crystal violet removal was 87.96% at the end of the 180-minute contact time at equilibrium, and the removal complied with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model type 1. The equilibrium time for the highest initial adsorbate concentration (160 mg/L) was 2880 minutes (2 days) in stationary phase systems while it was 180 minutes (3 hours) in mobile phase systems. It was also understood that palm fiber, which is an environmentally advantageous material, can be used in the removal of crystal violet dyestuff.