Competitive Adsorption of dyes (sunset yellow, malachite green) onto cadmium hydroxide nano particle loaded on activated carbon

The objective of this work is the study of adsorption of dye solution which is a mixture of two dyes (sunset yellow (SY) & malachite green (MG)) using cadmium hydroxide nano particle loaded on activated carbon (CHN-AC). (MG), a triphenylmethane dye, is used asanantifungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-parasitical therapeutic agent in aquacultures and animal husbandry. It has detrimental effects on intestine and gonads of aquatic organisms. When it was inhaled by human, it may cause even cancer. Contact of it with skin causes irritation with redness and pain. Therefore, the use of it was banned in many countries. (SY) is a yellow colouring that is added to a wide range of products such as squash, jelly, jams, soup and sauces. It should be avoided by anyone suffering from existing allergic conditions, such as asthma or urticaria and a child who has signs of hyperactivity of ADHD. So we used (CHN-AC) for removal of these dyes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were used to characterize the adsorbent material (CHN-AC). Batch adsorption studies are carried out by observing the effect of experimental parameters, namely, pH, amount of adsorbents, contact time and temperature. Adsorption capacity of (CHN-AC) is determined for competitive adsorption of mixture of dyes. For malachite green maximum adsorption found to be at PH=5 and there is no significant change in amount adsorbed after PH=5. For sunset yellow there is no significant change in amount adsorbed after PH=5. Optimum adsorbent dose for the dye is 0.04 g/50 ml. The adsorption capacity of CHN-AC for the two dyes (malachite green and sunset yellow) increased with temperature. The results generated by this work can be used for determination of optimum conditions for adsorption of mixture of dyes in aqueous solutions. Dyes are present in mixture form in various Industrial effluents. This work can be used in design of adsorption columns for dyes removal.

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