Synthesis of carbon loaded γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposite and their applicability for the selective removal of binary mixture of dyes by ultrasonic adsorption based on response surface methodology.

Title Synthesis of carbon loaded γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposite and their applicability for the selective removal of binary mixture of dyes by ultrasonic adsorption based on response surface methodology.
Authors Saad, M.; Tahir, H.
Journal Ultrason Sonochem
DOI 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.12.010
Abstract

The contemporary problems concerning water purification could be resolved by using nanosorbents. The present studies emphasis on the synthesis of γ-Fe2O3-activated carbon nanocomposites (γ-Fe2O3-NP-AC) by sol-gel method. The composition and surface morphology of them were studied by FTIR, EDS, SEM and XRD techniques. Moreover they were employed for the selective removal of binary mixture of dyes including reactive red 223 dye (RR) and Malachite Green dye (MG) by ultrasonic assisted adsorption method. Sonication is the act of applying sound energy to agitate particles in the sample. The ultrasonic frequencies (>20kHz) were used to agitate experimental solutions in current studies. The response surface methodology based on 5 factorial central composite design (CCD) was employed to investigate the optimum parameters of adsorption. The optimum operating parameters (OOP) including sonication time, solution pH, amount of adsorbent, concentration of RR and MG were estimated for the selective removal of mixture of dyes. On OOP conditions of RR, the % removal of RR and MG were observed to be 92.12% and 10.05% respectively. While at OOP of MG, the % removal of MG and RR were observed to be 85.32% and 32.13% from the mixture respectively. Moreover the mechanisms of adsorption of RR and MG on the γ-Fe2O3-NP-AC were also illustrated. The significance of the RR-γ-Fe2O3-NP-AC and MG-γ-Fe2O3-NP-AC adsorption models was affirmed by ANOVA test. The Pareto plots for the selective removal of the RR and MG from the binary mixture also confirm the significance of the factors. Isothermal studies were performed and RR adsorption was observed to follow Langmuir isotherm model whereas MG adsorption was observed to follow Freundlich model. Thermodynamic studies were conducted and the outcomes suggested the spontaneous nature of adsorption processes. The kinetic models were employed to study the kinetics of the process. It was observed that the system followed pseudo second order, intra-particle diffusion and Elovich models as represented by the R(2) values of the respective models. The comparative study from the previously studies revealed that the proposed method is amongst them is the most efficient method to eliminate RR and MG dyes from the aqueous medium. Therefore the current study will be useful in reducing the toxicity of RR and MG contaminated effluent.

Citation Saad, M.; Tahir, H..Synthesis of carbon loaded γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposite and their applicability for the selective removal of binary mixture of dyes by ultrasonic adsorption based on response surface methodology..

Related Elements

Carbon

See more Carbon products. Carbon (atomic symbol: C, atomic number: 6) is a Block P, Group 14, Period 2 element. Carbon Bohr ModelThe number of electrons in each of Carbon's shells is 2, 4 and its electron configuration is [He]2s2 2p2. In its elemental form, carbon can take various physical forms (known as allotropes) based on the type of bonds between carbon atoms; the most well known allotropes are diamond, graphite, amorphous carbon, glassy carbon, and nanostructured forms such as carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and nanofibers . Carbon is at the same time one of the softest (as graphite) and hardest (as diamond) materials found in nature. It is the 15th most abundant element in the Earth's crust, and the fourth most abundant element (by mass) in the universe after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. Carbon was discovered by the Egyptians and Sumerians circa 3750 BC. It was first recognized as an element by Antoine Lavoisier in 1789.