ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFICIENCY OF CRUSHED CERAMICS IN ADSORBING METHYL ORANGE DYE FROM WASTEWATER

Objective: This study investigates and assesses the potential of crushed, pulverized ceramics as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of methyl orange from wastewater. The presence of heavy metals and dyes in water bodies are deadly to the living organisms inside water, in which these pollutants are bio-accumulated and biomagnified in the environment. Due to the health effects of these pollutants, it is, therefore, necessary to treat metal and dye-contaminated wastewater prior to its discharge into the environment in order to comply with the stringent environmental regulations and also safeguard the present and future generations. Methods: The influence of pH, contact time, initial metal concentration, adsorbent dosage and temperature were studied in batch experiments at room temperature and were measured using UV-VIS Spectrophotometer at wavelength 464 nm. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) technique was employed as an instrument for characterization of the adsorbent before and after adsorption and the data were collected and interpreted using Microsoft Excel, 2016. Results: Maximum sorption for methyl orange was found to be at pH 2. The adsorption was rapid at the first 90 min of contact, with uptake of more than 90%, and equilibrium was achieved in 60 min of agitation. Langmuir, Freundlich and BET’s isotherm models were applied to describe the adsorption of methyl orange dye. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra of ceramics powder revealed that OH, C-H, C=C, C-O stretching were responsible for the adsorption. However, the effects of different experimental parameters that influenced the efficiencies of the adsorbent have been evaluated and optimized. Conclusion: The investigation revealed that the adsorption capacity of the powdered ceramics on the removal of methyl orange dye is high enough compared to observed values in literatures. Freundlich’s model fitted the equilibrium data better, while the pseudo-second-order kinetic model was the most fitting from the kinetic data obtained for the adsorption of methyl orange dye.