Kinetics and thermodynamic studies for removal of acid blue 129 from aqueous solution by almond shell

Efficiency and performance of Almond shell (AS) adsorbent for the removal and recovery of Acid Blue 129 (AB129) from wastewater is presented in this report. The influence of variables including pH, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dosage, particle size, contact time and temperature on the dye removal have been investigated in batch method by one at a time optimization method. The experimental equilibrium data were tested by four widely used isotherm models namely, Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D–R). It was found that adsorption of AB129 on AS well with the Langmuir isotherm model, implying monolayer coverage of dye molecules onto the surface of the adsorbent. More than 98% removal efficiency was obtained within 14 min at adsorbent dose of 0.4 g for initial dye concentration of 40 mg/L at pH 2. Kinetics of the adsorption process was tested by pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetics, and intraparticle diffusion mechanism. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model provided a better correlation for the experimental data studied in comparison to the pseudo-first-order model. Calculation of various thermodynamic parameters such as, Gibb’s free energy, entropy and enthalpy of the on-going adsorption process indicate feasibility and endothermic nature of AB129 adsorption on all adsorbents. This work can be used in design of adsorption columns for dyes removal.