Development of organovermiculite-based adsorbent for removing anionic dye from aqueous solution.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Chemistry
• Adsorption Science

Background:

• Anionic dyes like Congo Red (CR) pose environmental challenges in wastewater.
• Developing efficient adsorbents is crucial for dye removal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize organovermiculite-based adsorbents for Congo Red removal.
• To investigate the adsorption capacity, kinetics, and thermodynamics of the developed material.

Main Methods:

• Organovermiculite synthesis using hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide (HDTMAB) at varying cation exchange capacity (CEC) percentages.
• Characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Adsorption experiments conducted at different temperatures (298–318 K) and analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich, and pseudo-second-order models.

Main Results:

• Organic modification significantly enhanced vermiculite's adsorption capacity for CR, reaching up to 192.31 mg/g.
• Adsorption capacity increased with higher CEC modification and elevated temperatures.
• Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics best described the adsorption process.
• Thermodynamic analysis indicated an endothermic and spontaneous adsorption process.

Conclusions:

• Organovermiculite demonstrates high efficiency for removing anionic dyes from aqueous solutions.
• The material's enhanced adsorption capacity and favorable thermodynamic profile highlight its potential for wastewater treatment.
• Further research into organovermiculite for industrial dye removal applications is warranted.