Adsorptive removal of methyl orange and methylene blue from aqueous solutions with Acacia crassicarpa activated carbon

Abstract

In this study, activated carbon prepared from Acacia crassicarpa bark was prepared and studied for the potential development of low-cost, carbon-based adsorbents that remove industrial dyes from aqueous solutions. Various spectroscopy techniques and surface analyses were used to characterize the adsorbents. The adsorption of methyl orange (MO) and methylene blue (MB) onto the material was investigated under optimal experimental conditions including temperature, adsorbent dosage, and initial concentration of chemicals. The Langmuir isotherm model was observed to fit the adsorption data well. The maximum adsorption capacities predicted by the Langmuir isotherm were found to be 10.36 mg.g^-1 for MO and 15.34 mg.g^-1 for MB. The adsorbents were better able to remove the cationic dye than the anionic dye. The results of this study will be useful for future scale-up production of low-cost adsorbents using Acacia crassicarpa for the removal of cationic and anionic dyes.