Preparation, Characterization and Methylene Blue Dye Adsorption Ability of Acid Activated-Natural Zeolite

Abstract

The aim of this research was to prepare an acid-activated natural zeolite (Ac-Zeo) as a low-cost adsorbent material and to investigate their ability on methylene blue dye removal in aqueous solution. The natural zeolite was activated using hydrochloric acid and the final product was characterized using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The adsorption process was carried out using the batch method. Some parameters like pH condition, contact time and varied dye initial concentration were studied to determine the adsorption ability of Ac-Zeo. In this study, kinetic adsorption was evaluated using pseudo-second order model approach and found that the kinetic adsorption rate constanta (k) and adsorption capacity at equilibrium are 0.1872 mg.g^-1.min^-1 and 14.94 mg.g^-1, respectively. Moreover, Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Kaganer–Radushkevich isotherm adsorption models as well as sorption mechanism were studied in this research.