Eucheuma cottonii Seaweed-Based Biochar for Adsorption of Methylene Blue Dye

Anwar Ameen Hezam Saeed, Noorfidza Yub Harun, Suriati Sufian, Ahmer Ali Siyal, Muhammad Zulfiqar, Muhammad Roil Bilad, Arvind Vagananthan, Amin Al-Fakih, Aiban Abdulhakim Saeed Ghaleb and Najib Almahbashi
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Anwar Ameen Hezam Saeed: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Noorfidza Yub Harun: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Suriati Sufian: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Ahmer Ali Siyal: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Muhammad Zulfiqar: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Muhammad Roil Bilad: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Arvind Vagananthan: Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Amin Al-Fakih: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Aiban Abdulhakim Saeed Ghaleb: Centre of Urban Resource Sustainability, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Najib Almahbashi: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-15

Abstract: Pollution from dye containing wastewater leads to a variety of environmental problems, which can destroy plant life and eco-systems. This study reports development of a seaweed-based biochar as an adsorbent material for efficient adsorption of methylene blue (MB) dye from synthetic wastewater. The Eucheuma cottonii seaweed biochar was developed through pyrolysis using a tube furnace with N 2 gas, and the properties were later improved by sulfuric acid treatment. The adsorption studies were conducted in a batch experimental setup under initial methylene blue concentrations of 50 to 200 mg/L, solution pH of 2 to 10, and temperature of 25 to 75 °C. The characterization results show that the developed biochar had a mesoporous pore morphology. The adsorbent possessed the surface area, pore size, and pore volume of 640 m 2 /g, 2.32 nm, and 0.54 cm 3 /g, respectively. An adsorption test for 200 mg/L of initial methylene blue at pH 4 showed the best performance. The adsorption data of the seaweed-based biochar followed the Langmuir isotherm adsorption model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, with the corresponding R 2 of 0.994 and 0.995. The maximum adsorption capacity of methylene blue using the developed seaweed‑based biochar was 133.33 mg/g. The adsorption followed the chemisorption mechanism, which occurred via the formation of a monolayer of methylene blue dye on the seaweed-based biochar surface. The adsorption performance of the produced seaweed biochar is comparable to that of other commercial adsorbents, suggesting its potential for large-scale applications.

Keywords: biochar; pyrolysis; methylene blue; adsorption; seaweed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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