Project Type
Poster
Publication Date
4-15-2022
Department or Program
Chemistry and Physics
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty Mentor #1
Giancarlo, Leanna
Abstract
Methylene blue and crystal violet are cationic dyes of high intensity that are commonly discharged in wastewater. The colored compounds in wastewater inhibit sunlight penetration in waterways, resulting in the destruction of aquatic ecosystems. Activated carbon offers an attractive option for the efficient removal of dyes from wastewater due its excellent adsorption ability, highly porous structure, and large thermal/chemical stability. This study was conducted in order to investigate the adsorption of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution by various types of activated charcoal using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The effects of temperature and adsorbent quantity were studied to optimize the efficiency of the adsorption process. Crystal violet was an alternate dye used for comparison. Results revealed that a powered activated charcoal with mesh size <80 yielded the greatest adsorption as evidenced by the lowest spectroscopic absorbance. Higher temperature (35 °C vs 20 °C) also yielded greater adsorption. Varying the amount of activated charcoal had minimal effect on the adsorption process. A future study would include illustrating results by Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms and an exploration of size and structure of the charcoal surface.