Sodic and Acidic Crystalline Lamellar Magadiite Adsorbents for the Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solutions: Kinetic and Equilibrium Studies

The present study reports the feasibility of two synthetic crystalline lamellar nano-silicates, sodic magadiite (Na-mag) and its converted acidic form (H-mag), as alternative adsorbents for the removal of the dye methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. The ability of these adsorbents for removing the dye was explored through the batch adsorption procedure. Effects such as the pH and the adsorbent dosage on the adsorption capacities were explored. Four kinetic models were applied, the adsorption being best fitted to a fractionary-order kinetic model. The kinetic data were also adjusted to an intra-particle diffusion model to give two linear regions, indicating that the kinetics of adsorption follows multiple sorption rates. The equilibrium data were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, and Redlich-Peterson isotherm models. The maxima adsorption capacities for MB of Na-mag and H-mag were 331 and 173mg g-1, respectively.