Abstract:
Effect of thermal treatment on green tea dredge, an abundant waste, for dye removal was investigated in the present study. Variable temperature (800 and 900°C) and residence time in furnace (10 min, 1 and 2 h) were used to prepare six adsorbents which were characterized for surface morphology. The adsorption study was carried out using methylene blue as a model molecule and the effect of shaking time, pH and concentration was determined. Adsorbents prepared at 900°C were found to be more effective than those prepared at 800°C while longer residence time in furnace yielded adsorbents with higher adsorption capacity. The maximum adsorption capacity achieved in this case study was 71.4 ± 4.6 mg/g which is better than many activated carbons derived from other materials. Langmuir model was a better fit in isotherm studies while the sorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics.
