USE OF MONTMORILLONITE CLAY FOR ADSORPTION MALACHITE GREEN DYE

Removal of malachite green dye by adsorption from aqueous solution using montmorillonite clay is reported in this work. A malachite green dye is a cationic widely used in textile industries. Due to its persistence in the aquatic environment, it becomes a problem for aquatic and terrestrial organisms. This dye can be adsorbed through various techniques, but high acquisition and operating costs preclude widespread use. Several adsorbents are available in the market, but the most outstanding are the clays, especially the montmorillonites. These clays are finely divided material ( 0.002 mm), and its adsorption properties are continuously investigated. Types of clays 2:1 (two tetrahedral to one octahedral) are called expandables. The montmorillonite has a potential for dyes removal in wastewater due to the high surface area, porosity with excellent cation exchange capacity conferring its adsorbent property. This work aims to use the montmorillonite as an adsorption system in stages to textile decolorization effluent, composed of malachite green dye, reproduced in the laboratory. The characterization of the clay gives high purity and is used as adsorbent of good quality and efficiency. The retention of dyes in the system composed of montmorillonite arranged in separation stages was efficient. The effect of dye concentration and retention time are the most important parameters used in this study. High concentrations and retention time below 24 hours resulted in low levels of removal (25%). On the other hand, the low level of initial concentration increases removal efficiency (57%). Thus, the results obtained in this work allow concluding that montmorillonite is able to removal malachite green dye.