Adsorption of Methylene Blue by Bentonite Supported Nano Zero Valent Iron (B-nZVI)

Dyes used in textiles, foods, cosmetics, and chemicals have become a major environmental pollution issue around the world. To address this issue, a number of technologies have been created to remove these pollutants from the environment. Due to their superior properties at nanoscale, numerous nanomaterials have been applied to remove dyes from polluted waters. This research presents the findings of the development of bentonite nano zero-valent iron (B-nZVI) for the treatment of synthetic cationic dyes. This study has three objectives: (i) to produce bentonite nano zero-valence iron (B-nZVI), (ii) to characterize its adsorbents (B-nZVI), (iii) to characterize its adsorption capacity. Four main tests were used for this purpose: (i) a physical test (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area), (ii) a chemical test (cation exchange capacity (CEC) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF)), (iii) morphology (field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and (iv) mineralogy (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The five factors for the batch equilibrium test are adsorbent dose, concentration, kinetic, pH, and temperature. The batch test showed that the optimum dose for all adsorbents is 0.5 g. For the concentration factor, B-nZVI exhibits larger adsorption capacity (KL = 30,314.0536 L/g; R2 = 1) compared to bentonite (Kd = 0.0219 L/g; R2 = 0.8892). The kinetic factor showed that the adsorption capacity by pseudo-second-order model was the best for both adsorbents (qe = 1.2038 mg/g, R2 = 0.9993 for bentonite and qe = 6.9979 mg/g, R2 = 1 for B-nZVI). For B-nZVI, the interparticle diffusion model (Kf = 0.8645 m2 g−1 min L−1; R2 = 0.9) and intraparticle diffusion model (Kd = 2.3829 m2 g−1 min L−1; R2 = 0.9189) showed a good correlation with the adsorption data, while bentonite showed a lower correlation with the interparticle diffusion model (Kf = 0.0002 m2 g−1 min L−1; R2 = 0.6253) and intraparticle diffusion model (Kd = 0.2886 m2 g−1 min L−1; R2 = 0.6026), respectively. The pH factor showed that the adsorption capacity of bentonite (qe = 0.5674 mg/g) and B-nZVI (qe = 5.3284 mg/g) was highest in acidic conditions (pH 2). As for the temperature factor, there was no significant effect on bentonite and B-nZVI. Therefore, tests can be conducted at room temperature, saving energy. It was also concluded that B-nZVI is the best material for removing MB compared to bentonite and can be considered for the treatment materials of contaminated water.