REMOVAL OF CIBACRON BRILLIANT YELLOW 3G-P DYE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS BY BRAZILIAN PEATS AS BIOSORBENTS

<div><p>Two Brazilian peat samples in different stages of decomposition, fibrous peat (FP) and decomposed peat (DP), were used as biosorbents for the removal of the textile dye Cibacron Brilliant Yellow 3G-P (CBY) from aqueous solutions. These biosorbents were characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of initial pH of dye solution and contact time between the dye and the biosorbents on the biosorption capacities were studied. Based on an error function (<i>F_error</i>) the general-order kinetic model provided the best fit to the experimental data compared with the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic biosorption models. The equilibrium data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, and Liu isotherm models. For both biosorbents the equilibrium data were best fitted to the Liu isotherm model. Simulated dye house effluents were used to check the applicability of the proposed biosorbents for effluent treatment.</p>