Azo Dye Removal by Adsorption Using Waste Biomass: Sugarcane Bagasse

AZO DYE REMOVAL BY ADSORPTION USING WASTE BIOMASS: SUGARCANE
BAGASSE
1. Introduction
Colored compounds are the most easily recognizable pollutants in the environment
because of their appearance. Most of the industries such as textile, paper, carpet, and printing
use dyes and pigments to color their products. the discharge of dye-bearing wastewater into
natural streams and rivers possess a severe problem, as dyes impart toxicity to aquatic life
and are damaging the aesthetic nature of the environment. Amongst the numerous techniques
of dye removal, adsorption is the procedure of choice and gives the best results as it can be
used to remove different types of coloring materials.
Most commercial systems currently use activated carbon as sorbent to remove dyes in
wastewater because of its excellent adsorption ability. Activated carbon (powdered or
granular) is the most widely used adsorbent because it has excellent adsorption efficiency for
organic compounds.
Table 1. comparison for adsorption of some dyes on various adsorbents.
2.
Materials And Methods

1)
Adsorbents
a. Formaldehyde treated sugarcane bagasse
Sugarcane bagasse was collected, was dried under sunlight until all the
moisture has evaporated. The material was ground to fine powder. The resulting
material was sieved in the size range of 80-230 mesh ASTM. To immobilize the
colour and watersoluble substances, the ground powder was treated with 1%
formaldehyde in the ratio of 1:5 (bagasse:formaldehyde, w/v) at 50 oC for 4 h. The
sugarcane bagasse was filtered out, washed with distilled water to remove free
formaldehyde and activated at 80oC in hot air oven for 24 h. The material was placed
in an airtight container for further use.
b. Sulphuric acid treated sugarcane bagasse
One part of dried sugarcane bagasse was mixed with one part of concentrated
sulphuric acid and heated in a muffle furnace (Naber, Germany, Model: L51/S) for 24
h at 150oC. The heated material was washed with distilled water and soaked in 1%
sodium bicarbonate solution overnight to remove residual acid. The material was
dried in an oven at 105oC for 24 h and sieved in the size range of 80-230 mesh ASTM
and used for the further study. All adsorbents were dried at 110oC overnight before the
adsorption experiments.
2)
Sorbate
Methylene red (Sigma-Aldrich Chemie GmbH, Germany) was used to prepare
the simulated wastewater. An accurately weighed quantity of methylene red (0.5635
g) was dissolved in distilled water to prepare the stock solution (500 mg/L). The stock
solution was then properly wrapped with aluminium foil and stored in a dark place to
prevent direct sunlight, which may cause decolourisation.
3) Experimental solutions of the desired concentration were obtained by
successive dilutions.
In each adsorption experiment, 100 ml of dye solution of known concentration
and pH was added to 400 mg of adsorbents (untreated, formaldehyde treated and
sulphuric acid treated sugarcane bagasse) in a 250 ml round bottom flask. This was
done at a room temperature (291oC). The mixtures were then stirred on a rotary
orbital shaker (Heidolph, Model: Unimax 1010) at 160 rpm. The initial pH of the
mixtures were varied between 2-9, this was controlled by the addition of dilute HCl or
NaOH solutions.
Kinetics of adsorption was determined by analyzing adsorptive uptake of the
dye from aqueous solution. Therefore, samples were withdrawn from the shaker every
15 or 30 minutes and the adsorbent was separated from the solution by centrifugation
at 4500 rpm for 5 min. In order to determine the residual dye concentration, the
absorbance value of the supernatant solution was measured before and after the
treatment, at 617 nm with Shimadzu UV Visible spectrophotometer (Model UV mini
1240).
Two main system variables, initial dye concentration in the test solution and
adsorbent dosage, were varied to investigate their effects on the adsorption kinetics.
Blank runs, with only the adsorbents in 100 ml of distilled water, were conducted
simultaneously at similar conditions to account for any colour leached by the

adsorbents and adsorbed by glass containers. Samples were diluted with distilled
water if absorbance values exceeded 0.900. Each experiment result was an average of
three independent adsorption tests.
3.
Results And Discussions

a.
Effect of initial dye concentration

The experiments were carried out at fixed adsorbent dose (400 mg/100 ml) in
the test solution, 291oC room temperature, pH (7.0) and at different initial
concentrations of methyl red (50, 100,150, 200 and 250 mg/L) for different time
intervals (15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min). Results are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Effect of methyl red concentration on the dye adsorption
It is evident that the percent adsorption efficiency of sulphuric treated,

formaldehyde treated and untreated sugarcane bagasse decreased with the increase in
initial dye concentration in the solution. However, for sulphuric acid treated and
formaldehyde treated sugarcane bagasse, equilibrium attainment was achieved only
after 60 and 90 mins, respectively. This may be due to the fact that sulphuric acid and
formaldehyde treated sugarcane bagasse have macro and micro pores, resulting in
longer contact time between the dye molecules and the adsorbent. In the process of
dye adsorption, initially dye molecules have to encounter the boundary layer effect
before diffusing from boundary layer film onto adsorbent surface.
This is followed by the diffusion of dye into the porous structure of the adsorbent.
This phenomenon will take relatively longer contact time. The time profile of dye
uptake is a single, smooth and continuous curve leading to saturation, suggesting the
possible monolayer coverage of dye on the surface of the adsorbent, Effect of
adsorbent dose The adsorption of methyl red on sulphuric acid treatment and
formaldehyde treated sugarcane bagasse were studied by changing the quantity of

adsorbent (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 g/100 ml) in the test solution while keeping the
initial dye concentration (250 mg/L), temperature (291 oC) and pH (7.0) constant.
Experiments were carried out at different contact times for 120 mins.
Table 3. Effect of adsorben on the dye adsorption
As shown in Table 3, the percent adsorption increased and equilibrium time

decreased with increasing adsorbent doses. The adsorption increased from 59.4 to
96.3%, as the sulphuric acid treated dose was increased from 0.2 g to 1.0 g/100 ml at
equilibrium time (120 min). For formaldehyde treated sugarcane bagasse, adsorption
increased from 17.5 to 74.5% as the adsorbent dose was increased from 0.2 to 1.0
g/100 ml. Maximum dye removal was achieved within 90-120 min red concentration
in the test solution was almost constant. Increase in the adsorption with adsorbent
dose can be attributed to the increase in adsorbent surface area and availability of
more adsorption sites.
b.
Effect of pH
The experiments were carried out at 250 mg/L initial dye concentration with
400 mg/100 ml adsorbent mass at room temperature of 291oC for 3 h equilibrium
time. Results are presented in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Effect of pH on methyl red adsorption (initial dye concentration = 250

mg/L; adsorbent dose = 400 mg/100 mL; equilibrium time = 3 h)
4.
Conclusion
Sugarcane bagasse is a common biomass waste material and is easily available at a
small price. The removal of methyl red from simulated wastewater using chemical treatment
of sugarcane bagasse with sulphuric acid and formaldehyde has been investigated under
different experimental conditions in batch mode. The adsorption of methyl red was dependent
on the adsorbent dose and the methyl red concentration in the wastewater. The results show
that as the amount of the adsorbent was increased, the percentage of dye removal increased
accordingly. Higher adsorption percentages were observed at lower concentrations of methyl
red. Sulphuric acid treated sugarcane baggase showed a better performance compared to
formaldehyde treated sugarcane baggase. This study proved that sugarcane bagasse is an
attractive option for dye removal from dilute industrial effluents.
ABSTRACT
Dyes are usually present in trace quantities in the treated effluents of
many industries. The effectiveness of adsorption for dye removal from
wastewaters has made it an ideal alternative to other expensive
treatment methods. This study investigates the potential use of sugarcane

bagasse, pretreated with formaldehyde and sulphuric acid, for the
removal of methyl red, an azo dye from simulated wastewater. The effects
of condition such as adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, pH and
contact time were studied. The results showed that as the amount of the
adsorbent was increased, the percentage of dye removal increased
accordingly. Higher adsorption percentages were observed at lower
concentrations of methyl red. Sulphuric acid treated sugarcane baggase
showed
better
performance
compared
to
formaldehyde
treated
sugarcane baggase, thus making it an interesting option for dye removal

from dilute industrial effluents. Keywords: azo dye, methyl red, adsorption,
sugarcane bagasse

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AZO DYE REMOVAL BY ADSORPTION USING WASTE BIOMASS: SUGARCANE

Materials And Methods

simultaneously at similar conditions to account for any colour leached by the

Results And Discussions

Effect of initial dye concentration

It is evident that the percent adsorption efficiency of sulphuric treated,

formaldehyde treated sugarcane bagasse were studied by changing the quantity of

As shown in Table 3, the percent adsorption increased and equilibrium time

Figure 2. Effect of pH on methyl red adsorption (initial dye concentration = 250

treatment methods. This study investigates the potential use of sugarcane

sugarcane baggase, thus making it an interesting option for dye removal

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