Removal of textile dyes in wastewater using polyelectrolytes containing tetrazole groups

Textile dyes are some of the pollutants which have received the most attention because of the large volume of wastewater generated by the textile industry. Removal by means of adsorption is one of the most versatile alternatives to treat these effluents. Even though different adsorbents such as activated carbons and mineral materials have been proposed, polymeric adsorbents are a viable alternative. This work reports for the first time the use of polyelectrolyte PTZ and macroelectrolyte MTZ containing tetrazole groups as adsorbents useful in the textile dyes removal present in aqueous solutions and wastewater. Because of the anionic character of the tetrazole group, MTZ exhibits selective adsorption capabilities for cationic dyes of up to 156.25mg·g-1. The kinetic study of the process of adsorption shows that PTZ and MTZ fit a pseudo second-order model. MTZ also shows utility as a flocculant agent in the treatment of wastewater containing dyes Indigo Blue and Reactive Black. The results showed that PTZ and MTZ may be used in the treatment of wastewater in a process of coagulation-flocculation followed by the treatment by adsorption. This two-stage treatment removed up to 95% of the dye present in the wastewater. As well as removing the dyes, the values for COD, suspended solids, pH, and color of the wastewater decreased, thus significantly improving its quality.