Adsorption of Basic and Acidic Dyes onto Agricultural Wastes

The potential of almond leaves powder, (ALP) for the removal of Crystal violet (CV) and Congo red (CR) dyes from aqueous solution was investigated. The adsorbent (ALP) was characterized by FTIR and SEM analysis. Batch adsorption studies were conducted and various parameters such as contact time, adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, pH and temperature were studied to observe their effects in the dyes adsorption process. The optimum conditions for the adsorption of CV and CR dyes onto the adsorbent (ALP) was found to be: contact time (100mins), pH (10.0), temperature (343K) for an initial CV dye concentration of 50mg/L using adsorbent dose of 1.0g and contact time (100mins), pH (2.0), temperature (333K) for an initial CR dye concentration of 50mg/L using adsorbent dose 1.0g respectively. The experimental equilibrium adsorption data fitted best and well to the Freundlich isotherm model for both CV and CR dyes adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity of ALP was found to be 22.96mg/g and 7.77mg/g for the adsorption of CV and CR dyes respectively. The kinetic data conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic quantities such as Gibbs free energy (ΔG 0 ), enthalpy (ΔH 0 ) and entropy (ΔS 0 ) were evaluated and the negative values of ΔG 0 obtained for both dyes indicate the spontaneous nature of the adsorption process while the positive values of ΔH 0 and ΔS 0 obtained indicated the endothermic nature and increased randomness during the adsorption process respectively for the adsorption of CV and CR onto ALP. Based on the results obtained such as good adsorption capacity, rapid kinetics, and its low cost, ALP appears to be a promising adsorbent material for the removal of CV and CR dye stuff from aqueous media.