Investigation of the efficacy of Alhagi maurorum plant powder for Janus Green B dye removal from wastewater

Abstract

The growth of industrial activities, has led to a significant increase in the influx of color pollutants into the environment. Phytoremediation can play a crucial role in enhancing wastewater quality. Accordingly, this study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of Alhagi maurorum plant powder in removing Janus Green B (JGB) dye from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent’s properties were characterized through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The study examined various parameters, including initial dye concentration (20–110 mg/L), adsorbent dosage (0.002–0.02 g), solution pH (2–10), and contact time (5–50 min). The experiments revealed that the maximum dye removal efficiency, 99.51%, was achieved under optimal conditions: pH 7, a contact time of 20 min, an adsorbent dosage of 0.01 g, and an initial dye concentration of 90 mg/L. The adsorption of JGB onto the adsorbent followed the Langmuir isotherm model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 90.909 mg/g. The kinetic results supported a pseudo-second-order model for the adsorption process, with an R² value of 0.9999. The calculated Gibbs free energy changes (ΔG°) at temperatures of 288, 298, 308, 318, and 328 K were found to be −5354.28, −5993.61, −6439.66, −7026.51, and −7932.05 kJ/mol, respectively, indicating the spontaneity of the adsorption process.

NOVELTY STATEMENT

This study investigated the capabilities of Alhagi maurorum species for removing Janus Green B in wastewater, because A. maurorum is considered a weed in fields and can be found in abundance in desert areas. It is a low-cost and eco-friendly adsorbent.

Keywords:

• Biosorbent
• colored pollutants
• phytoremediation
• surface adsorption

Author contributions

Saeideh Kalantari conceived and planned the experiments and carried out the experiments. Mahdi Tazeh contributed to sample preparation. Saeideh Kalantari and Mahdi Tazeh contributed to the interpretation of the results. Saeideh Kalantari took the lead in writing the manuscript. All authors provided critical feedback and helped shape the research, analysis, and manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The author declares that she has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

The author declares that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

Data availability statement

All related data and materials are within the manuscript.