Background:
Bulk generated textile wastewater loaded with dyes is posing a stern threat
to aquatic health, especially when dumped without prior treatment. Lignocellulosic waste based activated
carbon (AC) and Titania (TiO2) suspension can constitute the emerging technological solution.
Objectives:
Best lignocellulosic precursor biomass, Melia azedarach (Darek sawdust - DSD), was
selected for ortho-phosphoric acid impregnated AC production and novel AC-DSD-TiO2 nanocomposite
was developed. AC-DSD and AC-DSD-TiO2 nanocomposites were employed for reactive orange
16 (RO16) dye adsorption in batch and decoloration in photocatalytic reactors, respectively.
Methods:
Materials were characterized by Scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersion
X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). For AC-DSD production,
the raw powdered biomass of DSD impregnated (value = 2) with H3PO4 at room temperature
and after shaking, was placed in a muffle furnace at 100°C for 12 h in glass tubes and subsequently
carbonized at a high temperature of 400°C for 30 min. Batch reactor parameters for the ACDSD-
RO16 system were optimized as a function of contact time, adsorbent dose, temperature, initial
dye concentration and pH. For AC-DSD-TiO2 nanocomposite synthesis, AC-DSD and TiO2 paste
was dried in the furnace at 90°C and calcined at 300°C and stored in a desiccator.
Results:
AC-DSD exhibited RO16 adsorption capacity of 92.84 mg/g. The experimental data were
best described by Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms with high R2 of 0.9995 and 0.9895
and closeness of predicted adsorption capacities of 94.15 and 88.58 mg/g respectively. This determines
the chemisorption nature for RO16 adsorption onto AC-DSD. The experimental data was well
explained by the pseudo-second order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters also suggest the
endothermic, chemisorption and spontaneous adsorption reaction. Photocatalytic studies of novel
AC-DSD-TiO2 revealed the higher Kc = 0.1833 value over Kad= 0.0572.
Conclusions:
Melia azedarach AC-DSD and its novel AC-DSD-TiO2 nanocomposite prove that these
materials could provide an optimal solution for treating textile dye solutions effectively as the good
adsorbent and photocatalyst.