DYE REMOVAL USING PINEAPPLE PEEL AS A NATURAL ADSORBENT

This work aimed to study the use of pineapple peel (Ananas comosus) as adsorbent for methylene blue (MB) removal from aqueous solution. The adsorbent was obtained by drying and grinding the fruit peel. The particle size of the material was < 0.2 mm. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out at speed rotation of 150 rpm and under two temperature conditions (30 and 40 degrees C). The effect of initial dye concentration (60 ppm - 100 ppm) and adsorbent dose (0.1g - 0.5g) on the adsorption unity capacity (qe) and percentage removal of methylene blue (%R) were investigated. The biosorbent obtained from the pineapple peel showed satisfactory results, removing up to 81% of adsorbate from the solution. The percentage removal of methylene blue increased with the increasing of adsorbent mass and decreased as the initial dye concentration was increased. The adsorption unity capacity was higher at higher initial dye concentration conditions and lower at higher adsorbent dose. The adsorption was favorable at lower temperature and the equilibrium data were well fitted by the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity ranged from 17.12 mg g-1 to 10.06 mg g-1 as the temperature increased from 30C to 40 degrees C. The results showed that this agricultural residue has potential to be used as an economical adsorbent for removal of methylene blue.