Adsorption of methyl red by water-hyacinth (Eichornia Crassipes) biomass

TARAWOU T.; HORSFALL MICHAEL; VICENTE JOSE L.

Chemistry & Biodiversity

Lugar: Zurich; Año: 2007 p. 1957 - 2267

The surface characteristics and adsorbent properties of biomass, obtained from low-cost and environmentally problematic water hyacinth, were determined. Optimum conditions for the elimination of the industrial dye Methyl Red(1) from aqueous solution were established by means of a batch adsorption technique. The ultimate adsorption capacity of water-hyacinth biomass in terms of the elimination of (1) was calculated from a Langmuir-type isotherm as 8.85×10-2 mol g-1 at 30° and at an optimum solution pH of 8.0. Dye elimination was found to be associated with strong electrostatic forces (physisorption), the overall process being slightly endergonic ( G > 0). Our study shows that water hyacinth has a great potential of removing color from wastewater and other dye-polluted aquatic systems.