Removal of Acid Blue25 from aqueous solutions using Bengal gram fruit shell (BGFS) biomass

ABSTRACT

The feasibility for the removal of Acid Blue25 (AB25) by Bengal gram fruit shell (BGFS), an agricultural by-product, has been investigated as an alternative for high-cost adsorbents. The impact of various experimental parameters such as dose, different dye concentration, solution pH, and temperature on the removal of Acid Blue25 (AB25) has been studied under the batch mode of operation. pH is a significant impact on the sorption of AB25 onto BGFS. The maximum removal of AB25 was achieved at a pH of 2 (83.84%). The optimum dose of biosorbent was selected as 200 mg for the removal of AB25 onto BGFS. Kinetic studies reveal that equilibrium reached within 180 minutes. Biosorption kinetics has been described by Lagergren equation and biosorption isotherms by classical Langmuir and Freundlich models. Equilibrium data were found to fit well with the Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the maximum monolayer biosorption capacity was 29.41 mg g⁻¹ of AB25 onto BGFS. The kinetic studies indicated that the pseudo-second-order (PSO) model fitted the experimental data well. In addition, thermodynamic parameters have been calculated. The biosorption process was spontaneous and exothermic in nature with negative values of ΔG° (−1.6031 to −0.1089 kJ mol⁻¹) and ΔH° (−16.7920 kJ mol⁻¹). The negative ΔG° indicates the feasibility of physical biosorption process. The results indicate that BGFS could be used as an eco-friendly and cost-effective biosorbent for the removal of AB25 from aqueous solution.

KEYWORDS:

• bengal gram fruit shell (BGFS)
• Acid Blue 25(AB25)
• wastewater
• biosorption

Acknowledgments

The author L. Sivarama Krishna would like to acknowledge to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for awarding the post-doctoral fellowship under the research grant (PDRU-VOT 02E94).