Assessment of drying temperature of sugarcane bagasse on sorption of reactive blue 5G dye

We studied the effect of drying temperature of sugarcane bagasse (SB) on sorption of reactive blue 5G (RB5G) dye to test whether SB is a suitable biosorbent for industrial dye removal. First we assessed a set of SB characteristics that could influence the sorption capacity of dried biomass. Kinetic drying of the SB biomass was measured at different drying temperatures, ranging from 30 °C to 80 °C. We used a static gravimetric method to perform equilibrium moisture sorption experiments at drying temperatures of 35–65 °C. In addition, we measured activation energy and net isosteric heat of sorption. SB biomass was characterized as a heterogeneous low-porous and hygroscopic material, with a series of functional groups on its surface. A Lewis thin-layer model best represented the kinetic drying data. In addition, moisture diffusion into the SB biomass was characterized by a rate-controlling step in the drying process. Equilibrium moisture sorption data showed the expected effects of temperature controlling the sorption capacity and a multilayer sorption process. A sigmoidal sorption isotherm data was best represented by a BET model. A high energy demand is required for moisture removal from biomass as suggested by the measured isosteric heat of moisture sorption. Drying temperature did not influence the RB5G adsorption capacity of bagasse, therefore any drying temperature in the range of 30 °C to 80 °C could be used to make this material feasible as an industrial adsorbent.