Kinetics and Equilibrium Studies of <i>Eriobotrya Japonica:</i> A Novel Adsorbent Preparation for Dyes Sequestration

Abstract

Abstract Present study deals with use of agricultural based waste material Loquat ( Eriobotrya japonica ) seeds for removal of toxic Acid orange 7 (AO7) dye from aqueous streams. Batch mode experiments were conducted as function of pH, initial dye concentration, contact time and dosage of adsorbent. Biomass was used in native, pretreated and immobilized forms. Maximum removal was observed at pH 2. Desorption studies were done in order to determine degree of stability and regeneration of immobilized biomass. For equilibrium studies, Langmuir and Freundlich models were applied. Pseudo 1 st &amp; 2 nd order models were applied on experimental data for reaction kinetics evaluation. Pseudo 2 nd order model was best fit for present experiments. Biomass characterization was done by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) techniques for elucidation of biomass constituents and surface morphology before and after dye loading. It was observed that loquat seeds may be potential adsorbent for removal of toxic dyes from wastewater.