Removal of Methylene Blue Dye from Aqueous Solutions Using Activated Carbon from Temple Waste Flowers: Kinetics and Equilibrium Studies

The present study is aimed to production of activated carbon from temple waste flowers (TWF) and removal of methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions by systematic batch mode experiments. The adsorption ability of activated carbon was analyzed by characteristics studies, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and Field emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FeSEM). The effect of methylene blue (MB) dye concentration, dose of adsorbent, pH and contact time were carried out to study the percentage removal of MB dye from aqueous solutions. Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevih (D-R) and Temkin isotherm models were applied to fix the equilibrium data. The suitable isotherm model for this study was found to be Langmuir. The linear regression coefficient R-2 was used to elucidate the best fitting isotherm model (R-2 = 0.9923). Lagergen pseudo-first order, Lagergen pseudo-second order and Elovich kinetic models were tested for the kinetic study. The boundary layer effect and surface adsorption was determined by Intra particle diffusion model. Results obtained revealed the activated carbon produced from temple waste flowers can be used as the good adsorbent for the removal of MB dye from aqueous solutions.