Adsorption of Methylene blue dye onto activated carbon derived from melinjo shell: optimization study using response surface methodology (RSM)

Abstract

Adsorption is one of the effective process in removal of dye wastewater in industry. Methylene blue can be removed by using adsorption process by the help of activated carbon. Activated carbon can be prepared from natural material such as melinjo shell. This project a ims to study and obtain the optimum operating parameter for adsorption of methylene blue onto the activated carbon derived from melinjo shell as a new, cheap and non-toxic substance. Phosphoric acid is used as an activating agent in production of activated carbon. Phosphoric acid is more preferred because of its highly polar character©This item is protectes. The structure of activa dted carbon derived from melinj by original copyrighto shell has been evaluated and characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The structure, functional group in a molecule and surface topography of the activated carbon can be determined. The operating parameter that were investigated are pH, initial dye concentration and the adsorbent dosage. Design Expert based on Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is used and the interaction effects of all factors and their optimization were carried out using RSM. Isotherm and kinetic studies were determined to evaluate the adsorption. The experimental data are fitted into the Langmuir and Freundlich model to determine the isotherm. The research result expected in this project is to obtain the optimum parameters for the adsorption of methylene blue onto activated carbon. The optimum condition found was to be at 78.95 mg/L initial concentration of methylene blue with 0.270 g adsorbent dosage and pH of 7.41.