Wastewater Treatment for Dyes and Heavy Metals Using Modified Pine Sawdust as Adsorbent

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of removing hexavalent chromium and methylene blue, taken as representative species for heavy metals and dyes, respectively, from aqueous solutions, using industrial by-products, specifically pine sawdust, which comes ample in Greece and from many sources. The material was tested in raw form and after acid hydrolysis treatment under mild conditions. Adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of adsorbent dose, pH, contact time and initial adsorbent concentration, on the adsorption process. The adsorption kinetics and adsorption equilibrium were further studied using the data obtained from these experiments.