Removal of Methyl Orange Dye Using Chemically Activated Carbon Derived from Commercial Pine Charcoal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65419/albahit.v5i3.157Keywords:
Activated carbon, Methyl orange, Adsorption, Azo dyes, Wastewater treatmentAbstract
Liquid waste is considered one of the potential sources of water pollution due to its content of toxic dyes. The discharge of azo dyes into the aquatic environment is particularly concerning because of their color, toxicity, and mutagenic effects, which may lead to serious health problems such as cancer. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the removal of methyl orange dye from aqueous solutions using activated carbon prepared from pine branches through a batch adsorption process. Various operational parameters were examined, including solution pH, equilibrium contact time, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dosage, particle size, and temperature. The results indicated that the adsorption of methyl orange decreases with increasing pH, with the optimum value observed at pH = 7. In addition, the adsorption efficiency increased with higher activated carbon dosage and longer contact time, reaching equilibrium within 140 minutes. At dye concentrations ranging from 10 to 30 mg/L, it was found that 0.8 g of activated carbon was sufficient to remove 83.106 % of the dye at an initial concentration of 10 mg/L in 20 mL of solution. The optimum stirring speed was found to be 200 rpm. The optimum particle size and temperature were 0.315 mm and 25°C, respectively. The equilibrium adsorption data were well fitted by both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models, showing good agreement between experimental and predicted values based on the correlation coefficient (R²). The maximum adsorption capacity of the activated carbon was found to be 0.7312 mg/g. These results indicate that activated carbon derived from pine branches can be effectively used as a low-cost and natural adsorbent for the removal of methyl orange from contaminated water.
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