Factors Influencing the Absorption of Textile Dye Dylon Burlesque Red on Activated Carbon

Date of Award

5-2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Chemistry

First Advisor

Eid Alkhatib, Ph.D.

Abstract

Challenges in cleaning wastewaters from textile industry arise from difficulties faced in removal of dyes found in these wastewaters. This is because the chemical stability of the dyes precludes their removal using typical treatment approaches. Need for better approaches for treatment thus exist to decontaminate such wastewaters so that their disposal in the environment does not pose health and environmental hazards. An approach that can be used to remove these dyes is by adsorbing them onto the surfaces of activated carbon. In this study, the efficiency of commercial activated carbon to adsorb Dylon Burlesque Red was assessed, and the effects of factors such as pH, type of carbon, type of dye, contact time, salinity, and hardness were evaluated. The evaluations were made by testing the absorbance of the prepared dye solutions using a Uv-Vis spectrophotometer after varying the variables that were of interest. The results of the study showed that carbon was effective in adsorbing the dyes used as was seen in the reduction in absorbance in the dye solutions where the carbon was added compared to the solutions where there was not carbon added. Evaluation of the effects of the other factors indicated that pH, salinity, and hardness of water were not significant determinants of dye absorption on water. However, contact time, type of the dye, and type of carbon were shown to affect adsorption of the dyes evaluated. These findings indicated that choice of carbon, allowing adequate contact time, and amount of carbon used could influence the effectiveness of use of carbon in treating dye-containing wastewaters.

Comments

Master's thesis submitted to the faculty of Sacred Heart University's Chemistry Program in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Chemistry.


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