Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

REMOVAL OF DIRECT BLUE DYE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION USING KAPOK HULL CARBON AS AN ADSORBENT

P.S.Syed Shabudeen, R.Venckatesh, S.Madhavakrishnan, K.Kadirvelu and S.Pattabhi

Abstract

A carbonaceous sorbent prepared from the indegeneous agricultural waste Kapok Hull, by acid treatment was tested for its efficiency in removing Direct blue dye. Batch mode experiments were conducted for initial dye concentration, agitation time, carbon dose and particle size at different temperatures. The adsorption process followed Lagergren first order rate equation. Both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models could describe the adsorption data. Intraparticle diffusion was found to be the rate-limiting step. The properties .and morphology of activated carbon was determined by standard methods, XRD and SEM studies respectively. This study reveal that the activated carbon prepared from Kapok hull is suitable for the removal of direct blue dye from aqueous solution.