Adsorption of reactive dye from aqueous solution and synthetic dye bath wastewater by Eucalyptus bark/magnetite composite

PubMedID: 27685968In the present study, Eucalyptus camaldulensis bark/magnetite composite (EBMC) was used for a potential application as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Reactive Black 5 (RB5). The adsorption experiments were performed with aqueous solution (RB5 + distilled water) and synthetic dye bath wastewater (SDBW) in order to investigate the potential application of EBMC in the textile industry. The effects of the various parameters, the initial dye concentration, the temperature, the pH, and the EBMC dosage on the adsorption were investigated. It was found that the adsorption capacity of EBMC increases by increasing the RB5 concentration and temperature and by decreasing the dosage of EBMC. 0.8 g EBMC was found to be sufficient for the removal of 250 mg/L RB5 from 150 mL SDBW with ~85% removal efficiency. The Koble-Corrigan isotherm model described the adsorption process more effectively (R2 = 0.997) than the Langmuir, Freundlich, the Dubinin- Radushkevich and the Jovanovic isotherm models. The Langmuir isotherm predicted a 370.7 mg/g maximum adsorption capacity. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the adsorption of RB5 onto the EBMC was an endothermic process. The multiple linear regression analysis was used in order to determine the cumulative effects of independent variables on the adsorption capacity. © IWA Publishing 2016