The removal of rhodamine B dye from aqueous solution using Casuarina equisetifolia needles as adsorbent

• Published in: Cogent environmental science Vol. 2; no. 1; p. 1140553
• Main Authors: Kooh, Muhammad Raziq Rahimi, Dahri, Muhammad Khairud, Lim, Linda B.L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Cogent 31.12.2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adsorbents; Adsorption; Aqueous solutions; Casuarina equisetifolia; Casuarina equisetifolia needle; Dosage; Dyes; Fourier transforms; FTIR spectrometers; Functional groups; Infrared spectrometers; Ionic strength; isotherm; Isotherms; Kinetics; Lignocellulose; Morphology; Rhodamine; rhodamine B; Scanning electron microscopy; Sustainable materials
• ISSN: 2331-1843; 2331-1843; 2765-8511
• DOI: 10.1080/23311843.2016.1140553

Casuarina equisetifolia needle (CEN), a lignocellulosic-rich and sustainable material, was used in order to investigate its ability as an adsorbent to remove rhodamine B (RB) dye from aqueous solution. Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer was used to characterise CEN functional groups and scanning electron microscope was used to study its surface morphology. Batch experiments were done in order to determine the effect of some parameters such as adsorbent dosage, initial pH, contact time, ionic strength, temperature and initial dye concentration. Kinetics, isotherm modelling and thermodynamics studies were also performed in order to explore an insight into the mechanism of the adsorption process. The study showed that the adsorption of RB by CEN is endothermic in nature and follows the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The Langmuir isotherm model fitted the experimental data best with a maximum adsorption capacity of 82.34 mg g −1 .