Malays. Appl. Biol. (2018) 47(1): 103–108
REMOVAL OF CONGO RED DYE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION
USING BRANCHES OF Ficus religiosa
SYED SALMAN SHAFQAT1*, MARIA NOSHEEN2, AMIR AZAM KHAN3, SYED RIZWAN SHAFQAT4,
SHAHZAD MURTAZA1, MUHAMMAD ZUBAIR1 and MUHAMMAD NADEEM ZAFAR1*
1Department of Chemistry, University of Gujrat, Gujrat, Pakistan
2Institute of Chemistry, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
3Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
4Department of Chemistry, University Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
*E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (SS. Shafqat) and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (MN. Zafar)
Accepted 5 March 2018, Published online 31 March 2018
ABSTRACT
Present study focused on indigenous Ficus religiosa branches as a low cost agricultural by-product employed as biosorbent for the removal of Congo red (CR) dye from water solutions. Adsorption behavior with special characteristics was evaluated using established and effective process. Effect of various established parameters such as pH, adsorbent dosage, temperature, initial dye concentration and contact time was tested. The efficient uptake of CR was observed at pH 4.0, adsorbent dose 0.1 g/50 mL and dynamic equilibrium at 25 min. The data revealed that Langmuir model found fit than the Freundlich model and adsorption followed pseudo second order kinetics. The results showed that Ficus religiosa branches could be used as cost effective biosorbent for the removal of CR dye from polluted aqueous solution.
Key words: Biosorptive removal, Congo red, Ficus religiosa, Langmuir isotherm
