UTILIZATION OF KAPOK HULL ACTIVATED CARBON FOR REMOVAL OF BASIC NILE BLUE DYE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION

摘要

A carbonaceous sorbent prepared from the indigenous agricultural waste (which is facing solid waste disposal problem), Kapok hull, by acid treatment was tested for its efficiency in removing basic dyes. Batch kinetic and isotherm experiments were conducted to determine the sorption and desorption of the Basic Nile blue from aqueous solution with activated carbon. The factors affecting the rate processes involved in the removal of the dye i.e., initial dye concentration, agitation time, carbon dose and particle size have been studied at 300, 318 and 330K. The adsorption process followed first order rate kinetics. The first-order rate equation by Lagergren was tested on the kinetic data, and isotherm data were analyzed for possible agreement with the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm equations. The intraparticle diffusion was found to be the rate-limiting step, which is an activated adsorption and obeys first order kinetics. The intraparticle diffusion rate constant and diffusion coefficients were determined. The structural and morphological properties of the activated carbon were characterized by XRD and SEM studies respectively.