Methyl Orange (MO) removal by using activated carbon from sugarcane bagasse: optimization by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)

Abstract

Adsorption by activated carbon has been widely used as an effective adsorbent in wastewater pollution control but its applications are restricted because it is an expensive material The study on the performance of low cost adsorbent such as untreated sugarcane bagasse (SB) and chemically treated sugarcane bagasse (SBC) in removal Methyl Orange ion in the synthetic industrial wastewater was carried out. In order to increase the adsorption capacity, sugarcane bagasse undergo chemical modification by concentrated phosphoric acid, H3PO4. The optimum activation condition for the preparation of the adsorbent were 1:2 impregnation ratio, activation time of 6 hours and activation temperature of 500°C as suggested by RSM. Adsorbent were characterized by FTIR spectra to analyse the functional group of SB and SBC. The batch experiment was conducted at different parameters by varying contact time (0-240 minutes), adsorbent dosage (0.2-1.0 g), initial dye concentration (50-250 mg/L) and pH (2-12). The high adsorption capacity indicates that SBC can be used as replacement of commercial activated carbon for dye removal in wastewater.