Removal of rhodamine 6G with different types of clay minerals

With an increased use of color dye in textile industries and elevated fabrics output, more scientific studies and technology developments are needed to effectively treat wastewater containing dyes. However, better understanding of the interactions between dyes and suspended solids is a necessity to advance such developments. In this study the interactions between rhodamine 6G (R6G), a cationic dye, and different types of clays minerals, commonly found in the wastewater sludge, were elucidated. The uptake of R6G on the clay minerals was attributed to cation exchange on the external surfaces of non-swelling clays, and at both external and interlayer spaces for swelling clays. In the interlayer of montmorillonite, the R6G molecules form monolayer and bilayer configurations under low and high uptake levels. The significant amounts of R6G uptake indicate that clay minerals are good sorbents for the removal of cationic dyes from water. And the R6G could be readily removed in wastewater treatment by adding small amount of clays and flocculated the clays out.