Removal Behavior of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution by Tea Waste: Kinetics, Isotherms and Mechanism

Li Liu, Shisuo Fan and Yang Li
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Li Liu: School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang 236037, China
Shisuo Fan: School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Yang Li: Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Tea waste (biosorbent) was characterized by BET, SEM, FTIR, XPS, solid state 13 C-NMR and applied to remove methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. The effect of different factors on MB removal, kinetics, isotherms and potential mechanism was investigated. The results showed that tea waste contains multiple organic functional groups. The optimum solid-to-liquid ratio for MB adsorption was 4.0 g·L −1 and the initial pH of the MB solution did not need to be adjusted to a certain value. The pseudo-second-order model could well fit the adsorption kinetic process. The adsorption process could be divided into two stages: a fast adsorption stage and a slow adsorption stage. The adsorption isotherm could be well described by Langmuir and Temkin isotherm models. The maximum adsorption amount could reach 113.1461 mg·g −1 based on Langmuir isotherm fitting. Desorption and reusability experiments showed that MB adsorption onto tea waste could be stable and could not cause secondary pollution. The interaction mechanism between tea waste and MB involved electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bond, ion exchange, π-π binding. The organic functional groups of tea waste played an important role during the MB removal process. Therefore, tea waste has the potential to act as an adsorbent to remove MB from aqueous solution.

Keywords: tea waste; methylene blue; kinetics; isotherm; mechanism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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