[Adsorption kinetics of reactive dyes on activated carbon fiber]

The adsorption capability of activated carbon fiber (ACF) to four reactive dyes (reactive brilliant red K-2BP, reactive turquoise blue KN-G, reactive golden yellow K-3RP, reactive black KN-B) in aqueous solution was studied, and adsorption mechanism was focused on from kinetics point of view. The results show that the equilibrium adsorbing capacity (q(e)) of each dye increases with the addition of initial concentration or temperature. On the same condition, the order of q(e) is: reactive brilliant red > reactive golden yellow > reactive black > reactive turquoise blue. The adsorption processes follow a pseudo second-order kinetic rate equation, and the steric structure, size and polarity of dyes are important influence factors to initial adsorption rate. The adsorption activation energy of each dye is low (16.42, 3.56, 5.21, 26.38 kJ x mol(-1) respectively), which indicates that it belongs to physics adsorption.