Decoloration treatment of a hazardous triarylmethane dye, Light Green SF (Yellowish) by waste material adsorbents

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2009.10.046Get rights and content

Abstract

An agricultural industry waste, deoiled soya, and a waste of thermal power plants, bottom ash, have been tested for their adsorption ability to remove Light Green SF (Yellowish) dye from wastewaters. The effects of various essential experimental parameters (dye concentration, mesh size, temperature, and pH) have been investigated. A study of four isothermal models, Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich, has been made and important thermodynamic parameters have been calculated. The decreasing values of enthalpy show that the adsorption process is endothermic. Mechanistic studies reveal the involvement of a pseudo-second-order mechanism to drive the adsorption process in dye–bottom ash and dye–deoiled soya systems. It has been observed that a particle diffusion mechanism was prominent in the case of adsorption of the dye on bottom ash and deoiled soya. Column adsorption and desorption experiments further confirmed the practical application of the present research. The percentage adsorption has been obtained as 88.74% and 89.65% with percentage recovery of 99.82% and 99.08% for bottom ash and deoiled soya, respectively. The experimental results confirmed that triarylmethane dye Light Green SF (Yellowish) can be successfully removed and recovered from aqueous solutions economically and efficiently.

Graphical abstract

Effect of pH on uptake of Light Green SF (Yellowish) by bottom ash and deoiled soya

  1. Download : Download high-res image (57KB)
  2. Download : Download full-size image

Introduction

A considerable amount of wastewater is generated from industries, such as dyestuffs, textile, paper, and plastics. Dye color is the primary contaminant recognized in wastewater [1]. The color in wastewater is a consequence of inefficient processing both in the dye manufacturing and in the dye-consuming industries. The presence of this color in very small amounts in water (less than 1 ppm for some dyes) is highly visible and undesirable from an ecological point of view as they block the penetration of the sunlight essential for photosynthesis of aquatic flora [2]. It is estimated that about 2% of dyes that are produced are discharged directly in aqueous effluent during the manufacturing processes and during the textile coloration process almost 10% of the dye loss occurs [2], [3].

Many of the dyes are toxic and when fed into water bodies, pose a serious hazard to aquatic living organisms [4], [5], [6], [7]. One of the commonly used triarymethane dyes, Light Green SF (Yellowish), is capable of severely affecting the metabolic system [8]. It is also found to have the potential of accumulating and permeating in the case of skin contact and acting as irritant if ingested or inhaled [9]. This dye and its metabolites induce carcinogenic effects in living system [10]. In a research conducted by Schiller [11] it is reported that the dye has the ability to produce sarcomas and also overexposure to the dye may lead to methemoglobinemia – a type of blood disorder [12]. Allmark and co-workers [13] have also reported the chronic toxicity of the dye. It is thus necessary to remove the dye from wastewaters due to various detrimental effects and increasingly stringent restrictions on the organic content of industrial effluents.

Over the years, techniques like oxidative degradation [14], photodegradation [15], electrocoagulation [16], and biochemical degradation [17] have been exploited but these methods prove to be practically infeasible in terms of cost and application. This initiated researchers to explore newer and cost-effective methods for dye removal. It is now well established that due to its sludge free and easy operation the adsorption technique has an edge over other physico-chemical methods of dye removal. Moreover, through adsorption the dyes can be completely removed even from the diluted solution [18]. It is the procedure of choice and gives the best results among the numerous techniques of dye removal and can be used to remove different types of coloring materials and other types of pollutants [19], [20].

Many industrial wastes and agricultural by-products have been used as adsorbents for the removal of organic compounds, dyes, color, surfactants, metals, etc. from wastewater [21], [22], [23]. Adsorbents such as bagasse pith [24], cotton waste, hair, bark and rice husk [25], tea waste ash [26], and agricultural residues [27] have been investigated widely as adsorbents. The use of agricultural waste as adsorbent for the removal of hazardous dyes has also been made by Wang and co-workers [28], [29], [30], [31], [32]. For the past few years our laboratories have also exploited the use of waste materials as potential adsorbents for the removal of dyes [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [38], [39], [40], [41], [42], [43], [44], [45], [46], [47], [48], [49], [50], [51], [52], [53], [54], [55], [56], [57], [58], [59], [60], [61], [62], [63], [64], [65], [66], [67], [68], [69], [70], [71], [72], [73], [74]. In the present research, the industrial feasibility of two nonconventional low-cost adsorbents, bottom ash and deoiled soya, for the removal of Light Green SF (Yellowish) dye has been studied.

Light Green SF (Yellowish), a triarylmethane dye (C.I. 42095), is also known as Light Green, Acid Green, Lissamine Green SF, Food Green 2, Green No. 205, Acid Brilliant Green 5, and Acid Brilliant Green SF. It is usually available as a disodium salt and has a maximum absorption value as 629 nm [75]. It is employed as a histological stain for collagen and is a critical component of Papanicolaou stains [76] together with eosin Y and bismarck brown Y. It is a permitted colorant for foodstuffs and beverages [77]. The widespread use of the dye Light Green SF and its related toxicity thus initiated investigation of the extraction of dye from aqueous solutions by utilizing adsorption techniques.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Light Green SF (Yellowish) [I], chemical formula C37H34N2O9S3·2Na and molecular weight 792.86, was procured from M/s Merck. All the solutions were prepared in double-distilled water and all reagents used were of analytical grade.

One of the adsorbents bottom ash was obtained from thermal power station (TPS) of M/s Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), Bhopal (India) and the other deoiled soya from M/s Sanwaria Agro Oils Ltd. Bhopal. pH measurements were made using a microprocessor-based pH

Characterization of the adsorbents

The chemical analysis of bottom ash and deoiled soya revealed their main constituents (Table 1). Physical parameters like surface area, porosity, and density in the case of bottom ash have been found as 870.5 cm2/g, 46%, and 0.6301 g/ml, whereas in the case of deoiled soya were 728.6 cm2/g, 67%, and 0.5614 g/ml, respectively. Differential thermal analysis confirmed the high thermal stability of bottom ash. Several other techniques such as electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopic techniques

Summary

Wastes of thermal power plants and soya oil producing industries (bottom ash and deoiled soya, respectively) are attractive, versatile, and freely available media for the adsorption of dye contaminants in water. The equilibrium adsorption data showed significant correlation to Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin, and D-R adsorption isotherms and supported pseudo-second-order kinetics in Light Green–bottom ash and deoiled soya systems. The process of adsorption of dye over the two adsorbent materials

Acknowledgement

One of the authors (Arti Malviya) is thankful to CSIR, New Delhi for the award of Senior Research Fellowship.

References (91)

  • I.M. Banat et al.

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (1996)
  • T. Robinson et al.

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2001)
  • C.I. Pearce et al.

    Dyes Pigm.

    (2003)
  • C. O’Neill et al.

    Water Res.

    (2000)
  • R. Anliker et al.

    Chemosphere

    (1980)
  • R.D. Combes et al.

    Mutat. Res./Rev. Genet. Toxicol.

    (1982)
  • W.H. Hansen et al.

    Food Cosmet. Toxicol.

    (1966)
  • F. Gosetti et al.

    J. Chromatogr. A

    (2004)
  • K. Kumar et al.

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2006)
  • A.K. Jain et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2003)
  • Y.S. Ho et al.

    Process Biochem.

    (2003)
  • G.S. Gupta et al.

    Water Res.

    (1990)
  • A. Bousher et al.

    Water Res.

    (1997)
  • N.R. Bishnoi et al.

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2004)
  • P. Nigam et al.

    Bioresour. Technol.

    (2000)
  • S. Wang et al.

    Water Res.

    (2005)
  • L. Li et al.

    J. Colloid Interface Sci.

    (2006)
  • S. Wang et al.

    Fuel

    (2008)
  • B.C. Oei et al.

    Bioressour. Technol.

    (2009)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    Waste Manage.

    (1998)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    Sep. Sci. Technol.

    (2000)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    Water Res.

    (2000)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    Water Res.

    (2002)
  • A.K. Jain et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2003)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    Water Res.

    (2003)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Colloid Interface Sci.

    (2004)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Colloid Interface Sci.

    (2004)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Colloid Interface Sci.

    (2005)
  • A. Mittal

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2006)
  • A. Mittal et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2006)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Colloid Interface Sci.

    (2006)
  • A. Mittal et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2006)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Colloid Interface Sci.

    (2006)
  • A. Mittal et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2007)
  • R. Jain et al.

    J. Environ. Manage.

    (2007)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2008)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Colloid Interface Sci.

    (2008)
  • A. Mittal et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2008)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2008)
  • A. Mittal et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2008)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2008)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    Colloids Surf. B

    (2008)
  • A. Mittal et al.

    J. Colloid Interface Sci.

    (2008)
  • V.K. Gupta et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2009)
  • A. Mittal et al.

    J. Hazard. Mater.

    (2009)
  • Cited by (0)

    1

    KFUPM Chair Professor.

    View full text