Fixed-bed system for adsorption of anionic acid dyes from binary solution onto quaternized kenaf core fiber

Abstract

Water pollution due to the effluents from textile industries causes serious concern around the world. During the coloration process, the excess synthetic dyes are discharged into the wastewater stream. In the present research, kenaf core fiber (KCF) residue was chemically modified with (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride (CHPTAC) to alter the surface properties and increase the surface area to develop more active sites that capture anionic dyes from aqueous solution. Fixed-bed adsorption studies were conducted to investigate the performance of using quartenized kenaf core fiber (QKCF) as an adsorbent for the removal of anionic acid dyes from a binary system. The effects of operational parameters, including inlet dye concentration, flow rate, and bed height, were studied in a fixed-bed column system, while other process parameters were fixed, i.e. pH and temperature at 7.5 and 27 ºC, respectively. The fixed-bed column performed better with lower influent dye concentration, less flow rate of the influent, and a higher adsorbent bed depth. Overall, the present study showed that QKCF is a potential adsorbent for anionic dye removal from aqueous solutions in a fixed-bed column system.

Full Article

Fixed-Bed System for Adsorption of Anionic Acid Dyes from Binary Solution onto Quaternized Kenaf Core Fiber

Intidhar Jabir Idan,^a,b,* Luqman Chuah Abdullah,^a Siti Nurul Ain Binti Md. Jamil,^c Maytham Kadhim Obaid,^a,b and Thomas Shean Yaw Choong ^a

Water pollution due to the effluents from textile industries causes serious concern around the world. During the coloration process, the excess synthetic dyes are discharged into the wastewater stream. In the present research, kenaf core fiber (KCF) residue was chemically modified with (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride (CHPTAC) to alter the surface properties and increase the surface area to develop more active sites that capture anionic dyes from aqueous solution. Fixed-bed adsorption studies were conducted to investigate the performance of using quartenized kenaf core fiber (QKCF) as an adsorbent for the removal of anionic acid dyes from a binary system. The effects of operational parameters, including inlet dye concentration, flow rate, and bed height, were studied in a fixed-bed column system, while other process parameters were fixed, i.e. pH and temperature at 7.5 and 27 ºC, respectively. The fixed-bed column performed better with lower influent dye concentration, less flow rate of the influent, and a higher adsorbent bed depth. Overall, the present study showed that QKCF is a potential adsorbent for anionic dye removal from aqueous solutions in a fixed-bed column system.

Keywords: Binary system; Fixed-bed; Kenaf core fiber; Acid blue dye; Acid green dye; Quaternization

Contact information: a: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; b: Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Babylon, Babylon, Iraq; c: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia;

* Corresponding author: immb2010@yahoo.com

INTRODUCTION

The most challenging mission in wastewater treatment plants is the removal of anionic dyes because they are water-soluble and produce colors that shine brightly in the water. Even very small quantities of these dyes in aqueous environments can significantly affect the transparency and quality of bodies of water, leading to water pollution. Chemical dyes absorb and reflect sunlight that enters the water, and the absorption of light decreases algal photosynthesis and can disrupt the food chain (Indrani et al.2016; Pirsaheb et al. 2016).

It is necessary to carefully monitor all effluents that are discharged from industries that carry dyes and pigments to natural water bodies and to remove the colored constituents in order to protect the aquatic environment and to also safeguard human well-being. A great number of new technologies for effluent management are being developed in response to the economic, environmental, and societal limitations that are increasingly posed by conventional wastewater systems (Mondal 2008; Shahmoradi et al.2013; Shivaraju et al. 2017). Adsorption can remove or reduce different kinds of pollutants (i.e., dyes) and is widely used in wastewater treatment plants (Hamdaoui 2006).

Recently, interest in producing an adsorbent derived from renewable, abundant, low-cost substances and generated from an agricultural origin has increased (Babel and Kurniawan 2003). Compared with the production of activated carbon, which requires high energy consumption (steam or gasification processes), the chemical modification of agricultural biomass requires less energy (no gasification) to produce an adsorbent. There has been a growing trend toward the addition of surface modifiers (Shahmoradi et al. 2012). One such modification process is quaternization (Yavari et al. 2016). To date, there has been no reported research on using quaternized kenaf core fiber (QKCF) as an adsorbent for the removal of binary acid dyes from an aqueous system. Therefore, a study on the development of QKCF as a novel adsorbent in removing binary acid dyes from aqueous solutions is needed. In this research, kenaf core fiber (KCF) was chemically modified to improve the dye removal capacities for a fixed-bed absorption system.

EXPERIMENTAL

Preparation Adsorbent from Kenaf Core Fibers

Kenaf core fiber (KCF) was selected as the raw material for the preparation of adsorbent and was collected from the Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP) in Universiti Putra Malaysia. KCF coarse powder was washed thoroughly in water to get rid of dust and undesirable particles. The collected sample of KCF was then rinsed with distilled water and oven-dried for 24 h at 50 °C to remove all moisture. The dried KCF coarse powder was sieved using stainless steel sieves to collect particle sizes from 0.25 mm to 1 mm. A specific amount of KCF (30 g) was mercerized by soaking it in a solution of 20 wt.% NaOH (62.5 g NaOH dissolved in 250 mL of distilled water) for 24 h. The basic medium swelled the fiber walls and opened the pores to improve the KCF absorbency. Mercerized kenaf core fiber (MKCF) was washed with distilled water and oven-dried at 50 ºC for 24 h.

The quaternization was accomplished by reacting each gram of dried MKCF with a solution that consisted of 1.5 g of NaOH, 6.67 mL of 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride (CHPTAC) solution (with 60 wt.% in water), and 2.5 mL of distilled water. The mixture was kept in a closed container at room temperature for 24 h. The quartenized kenaf core fiber (QKCF) was washed with 0.1% acetic acid solution to halt the reaction and rinsed with distilled water until a neutral pH was attained. The QKCF was dried at 50 °C for 24 h and stored in a closed container (Idan et al. 2017).

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM; Hitachi Model S-3400N, Tokyo, Japan) was used to investigate the morphology of natural kenaf core fiber (NKCF) and QKCF. Samples were spread over an aluminum stub with double-sided tape and coated with a thin layer of gold. The apparatus was operated at 15 kV, and micrographs were recorded at an enlargement of 100 µm. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) is a surface elemental analysis used in conjunction with SEM. The instrument was operated at 20 to 30 kV.

Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) Spectrometer 100 (PerkinElmer, United Kingdom) is an essential tool to analyze surface functional groups for adsorbent materials. FTIR spectrum was used in this study to identify the characteristic functional groups in QKCF and NKCF.

Surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter of the prepared adsorbent were measured by Micromeritics 3Flex surface characterization analyzer (Norcross, GA, USA). Nitrogen sorption isotherms were measured at 77 K. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method was utilized to calculate the specific surface areas. By using the non-local density functional theory (NLDFT) model, the pore volume was derived from the sorption curve. This procedure was automatically performed by software available within the instrument.

Preparation of Dyes

Acid blue 25 (AB) and Acid green 25 (AG) anionic dyes were used as adsorbates to evaluate the performance of QKCF. The structures and general properties of these two dyes are presented in Fig. 1 and Table 1, respectively.

The stock solution of a single solute of AB and AG dyes were prepared by dissolving 1.00 g of dye powder with distilled water in a volumetric flask, such that the final concentration of each single solute in the respective stock solution was 1000 mg/L. The solutions with various dye concentrations were prepared by the fresh dilution of the stock solution with distilled water prior to each adsorption study using Eq. 1,

where C₁ and C₂ were the required dye concentration and the stock dye concentration in mg/L, respectively, and V₁ and V₂ were the required dye volume and the stock dye volume in mL, respectively.

The ratio of mixing for each sample in binary systems was 1:1; every 100 mL of anionic dye solution was prepared by a mixture of 50 mL of AB dye and 50 mL of AG dye. The concentration of each dye was changed depending on the tests.

Fig. 1. Molecular structure of (a) AB dye and (b) AG dye

Table 1. General Properties of RR, RB, AB and AG Dyes

Fixed-bed Adsorption Studies for Binary System

Fixed-bed absorption studies were conducted for adsorption AB and AG dyes in binary acid components on a QKCF by changing the inlet dye concentration, flow rate of the dye inlet, and QKCF bed height.

Continuous flow adsorption studies were conducted at 27 ± 1 °C in a column made of a Pyrex glass tube that was 50 cm tall and had an inner diameter of 25 mm. A porous sintered disc was placed at the bottom of the column to prevent the loss of adsorbent, and a layer of glass wool was placed on the top of the adsorbent to prevent floating of the adsorbent. A known quantity of QKCF sorbent was packed in the column to yield the desired bed height. QKCF was soaked in deionized water for 15 min to prevent entrapped air from being held in the column. The column was washed with distilled water for 5 min at a constant flow rate before loading the dye solution.

A Watson Marlow 101U/R peristaltic pump (Watson-Marlow Limited, Falmouth, Cornwall, UK) was used to pump the dyes solution downward through the column at a chosen flow rate. The dyes solutions were placed in a tank that was connected with a pipe to the column. After a pre-determined interval of time, the outlet dyes concentration C_t (mg/L) was measured. The breakthrough curves of C_t/C_o were plotted against time.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Characterization of Adsorbent

Scanning electron microscopy

The surface morphology of the NKCF and QKCF was examined using SEM (Fig. 2). The micrograph in Fig. 2a shows that the surface textures of the lignocellulosic in NKCF were rough, with uneven surfaces and some minor pores. After quaternization, the pores on the surface of the QKCF were very noticeable with distinct pore walls, as shown in Fig. 2b. They were arranged in a group of honeycombed structures. These open cylindrical and heterogeneous pores provide sites for dyes to be trapped and adsorbed on the QKCF surface (Zaini and Khairul 2014).

Fig. 2. SEM Micrographs of (a) NKCF and (b) QKCF

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR)

The FT-IR spectra of NKCF and QKCF are illustrated in Fig. 3. As can be observed from Fig. 3, the trend of the FTIR spectrum for NKCF contains some main peaks which are almost similar to many lignocellulosic plants. Some major peaks around 2950-2770 cm^-1 are related to aldehyde C-H of alkane, 2517-2131 cm^-1 of aromatic C=C stretching of ketone, 1732-1500 cm^-1 of C=O stretching vibration of carboxylate and 1505-1059 cm^-1 are related to medium intensity of C-N were detected. The O-H stretching vibrations at bandwidth of 3943-3637 cm^-1 are present in the NKCF and QKCF. The peaks located at 3263 cm^-1, 3569 cm^-1, and 3597 cm^-1 are found on the spectrum of the QKCF; they indicate the presence of C-H, CH₂, and free OH, respectively, whereas the peak detected at 2878 cm^-1 on the spectrums of the QKCF represents the presence of CH₃, CH₂, and CH groups. Furthermore, peaks at 1655 cm^-1 assigned to C=O stretching vibration of carboxylate, 1592 cm^-1 for medium N-H band and 1475 cm^-1 assigned to the NH₂ amines group is evidence of a quaternary ammonia group reacted to QKCF. The medium peak located at 1229 cm^-1 band is assigned to the C-N medium amines. Moreover, the peaks located at 900 and 450 cm^-1 are assigned to the =C-H and CH₂rocking.

Fig. 3. FTIR spectra for natural kenaf core fiber (NKCF) and quaternized kenaf core fiber (QKCF)

BET analysis

The surface area and average pore diameter of the prepared adsorbents were determined by BET analysis. This analysis is important because a large pore removes a smaller adsorbate rapidly, but is unable to retain it permanently, which results in an overall lower removal efficiency, while a small pore would fail to capture larger adsorbates (Ahmedna et al. 2000). Figures 4 and 5 show the BJH plots of cumulative surface area vs. pore width and surface area plot for NKCF and QKCF, respectively. The surface area (S_BET) increased from 2.4 m²/g for NKCF to 4.3 m²/g for QKCF. The average pore diameter of NKCF was 106 nm, which indicated macropores. QKCF had an average pore diameter of 283 nm. The pore volume slightly decreased from 0.1699 cm³/g for NKCF to 0.1128 cm³/g for QKCF, which was attributed to the smoother texture of KCF surface after quaternization (Idan et al. 2017).

Fig. 4. BJH plots of cumulative surface area vs. pore width for (a) NKCF and (b) QKCF

Fig. 5. BET surface area plot for (a) NKCF and (b) QKCF

Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX)

The elemental composition of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen in the NKCF and QKCF are listed in Table 2, and the elemental percentages are shown in Fig. 6. A significant percentage of nitrogen was detected in QKCF, whereas it was not detected in NKCF. Hence, this analysis verified that the quaternary ammonia group (NH⁴⁺) reacted on QKCF and that the synthesis was successful. Moreover, the percentage of nitrogen in the QKCF sample detected by EDX was 0.88%. This result indicates that NR⁴⁺ ions were present on the QKCF surface.

Table 2. Elemental Analysis of NKCF and QKCF by EDX

Fig. 6. EDX spectra of (a) NKCF and (b) QKCF

Measurement of Dye Concentration in Multicomponent Solution

The UV-spectrophotometer method is a common procedure for determining the dye concentration in a mixture. The linear relationship between the absorbance (A) and concentration of dye (C) (mg/L) given by the Beer-Lambert law in Eq. 2 was applied (Ekrami and Okazi 2010),

A = K C + E (2)

where A is the absorbance of light at a maximum wave length (λ_max), K is the absorbance coefficient (slope of linear relation), C is the concentration of dye in the solution (mg/L), and E is the intercept.

For the binary system, the total absorbance A₁ at λ_1,max (absorbance of light at maximum wave length for component 1) is the sum of absorbance in the individual components of AB and AG and can be written as Eq. 3,

Similarly, for the total absorbance A₂ at λ_2,max (absorbance of light at maximum wave length for component 2) can be written as Eq. 4.

The combination of the previous two equations results in Eqs. 5 and 6, respectively, which provide the values for the concentration of each dye component, C_AB and C_AG.

where K_AB1 and K_AG1 represent the calibration constants for dyes AB and AG at λ_1,max, while K_AB2and K_AG2 represent the calibration constants for dyes AB and AG at λ_2,max.

To calculate the dye concentrations of each dye in the binary acid solution (AB with AG dyes), four calibration curves were built to determine four calibration coefficients using pure standard AB and AG dyes of known concentration, as illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8, which show the calibration constants for the AB and AG dyes as follows:

K_AB1= 0.0267, K_AG1=0.0157 measured at λ_1,max =602 nm

K_AB2=0.0246, K_AG2=0.0159 measured at λ_2,max = 641 nm

Thus, the concentrations of the AB and AG dyes were calculated by Eqs. 7 and 8, respectively.

Fig. 7. Calibration curves for AB and AG dyes at λ1_max = 602 nm

Fig. 8. Calibration curves for AB and AG dyes at λ2_max = 641 nm

Fixed-Bed Adsorption Studies

In a fixed-bed sorption process, the solution enters into a continuous stream and leaves the adsorbent column. The area covered by the polluted on the inlet side is called the mass transfer zone (MTZ) and is where adsorption occurs. When the activated adsorbent material gets exhausted over a period of time, the MTZ region moves ahead and across the bed, leaving behind a region of the bed that has been saturated by contaminated substances. A breakthrough takes place when the MTZ reaches the end of the whole bed. The breakthrough curve acts as a graphical representation of the MTZ movement across the bed. The breakthrough point occurs when the ratio of the concentration of the influent, C_o(mg/L) and the effluent, C_t (mg/L) is 0.05; the time at this point is defined as t_b (min). Generally, for industrial applications when the C_t/C_o value becomes 0.5 at time t_0.5 (min), i.e., 50% breakthrough is achieved, the column adsorbent is replaced. The column adsorption capacity is estimated at this breakthrough point. Despite reaching a 50% breakthrough, the column is still operational until it reaches a value of C_t/C_o = 0.90, which is the column’s operating limit. Furthermore, the column gets completely exhausted if the inlet and the outlet concentrations are similar i.e., C_o ≈ C_t at time t_e. In this research, the column sorption capacity for removal acid dyes at 50% breakthrough (mg/g) was calculated by Eq. 9 (Baral et al. 2009).

Column adsorption capacity at 50% breakthrough (mg/g) = (Breakthrough time (at 50%) (min)× Influent flow rate (L/min) × Inlet dye concentration (mg/L)) / mass of adsorbent in bed (g)

(9)

Effect of inlet dyes concentration

The effect of the inlet dye concentration of the binary dyes on the column performance was studied by varying the inlet dye concentrations of 20 mg/L, 60 mg/L, and 100 mg/L for constant bed height of 6 cm and inlet flow rate of 10 mL/min. The breakthrough curves are shown in Fig. 9 for AB and AG dyes in binary acid components. The QKCF adsorbent bed was exhausted faster at the higher initial dye concentrations of AB and AG dyes in the binary systems. Table 3 shows that the breakthrough point (t_b) was reached faster with the 100 mg/L dye solution than with the other two concentrations of 20 mg/L and 60 mg/L. This phenomenon is expected with increasing influent dye concentration because the binding sites were occupied rapidly, and the QKCF adsorbent bed was saturated within a short period of time (Tan et al. 2008).

Fig. 9. Breakthrough curves for adsorption of AB and AG dyes in binary system for different initial dye concentrations (bed depth of 6 cm, flow rate of 10 mL/min, and a temperature of 27±1 °C)

Effect of bed adsorbent height

Figure 10 shows the breakthrough curve obtained for the adsorption of AB and AG dyes in binary systems on QKCF for the three different bed heights of 4, 6, and 8 cm at a constant dye concentration of 100 mg/L and an adsorbate flow rate of 10 mL/min.

A constant pattern of breakthrough curves was obtained for AB and AG dyes in binary systems over the range of bed depths studied. However, at a higher bed height, the curves tended to be flatter. In addition, Table 3 shows that both breakthrough and exhaustion times increased with an increase in the bed height from 4 cm to 8 cm. This result reflects the fact that at higher bed heights there is more mass of QKCF present in the column and more active sites to capture the dye molecules, resulting in a greater uptake capacity (Obaid et al. 2017). Increasing the bed depth increases the dye transfer zone. The dye transfer zone travels from the entrance side of the fixed-bed and proceeds toward the outlet side. Therefore, for the same inlet concentration, an increase in the bed height would results in a longer distance for the dye transfer zone to reach the exit of the column. Consequently, it would result with an extended breakthrough time. For higher bed depths, the increase in the QKCF mass would provide a larger service area and lead to an increase in the volume of dye solutions that need to be treated (Ahmad and Hameed 2010).

Fig. 10. Breakthrough curves for adsorption of AB and AG dyes in binary system for different bed depth (C_o 100 mg/L, flow rate 10 mL/min, temp. 27 ± 1 °C)

Effect of flow rate

The effect of inlet dyes flow rate (Q) on the adsorption of AB and AG dyes in binary system on QKCF was investigated by varying the flow rate (5 mL/min, 10 mL/min, and 15 mL/min) by keeping the inlet dye concentration constant at 100 mg/L and with a bed depth of 6 cm. The breakthrough curves are shown in Fig. 11. At a lower flow rate of 5 mL/min, a longer contact time was required, and a thin adsorption zone formed. At higher flow rate of 15 mL/min, a steeper curve and a relatively early breakthrough was observed for all the dyes.

Thus, the fixed-bed column packed with QKCF demonstrated better performance by using a lower inlet dye flow rate of 5 mL/min rather than a higher flow rate of 15 mL/min. This was due to the higher flow rate resulting in not enough contact time between the dyes and QKCF in the column and less diffusion of the dye into the pores of the QKCF (Vinodhini and Das 2010). At the end, the dyes might leave the column before equilibrium was reached. This phenomenon has been observed in other fixed-bed sorption systems (Rajeshkannan el al. 2013; Afroze et al. 2016).

Fig. 11. Breakthrough curves for adsorption of AB and AG dyes in binary system for different flow rate (Q, mL/min) (100 mg/L of C_o, bed depth of 6 cm, and a temperature of 27±1 °C)

Table 3. Column Adsorption Data for AB and AG Dyes in Binary System onto QKCF

Column Dynamics Studies

The Thomas, Yoon-Nelson, and Bohart-Adams models were used to analyze the sorption performance of the anionic dyes through the column system.

Application of Thomas model

The data from experimental column studies were analyzed by the Thomas model. The Thomas hypothesis is based on an adsorption process that follows the Langmuir kinetics for the adsorption-desorption process. In this model it is presumed that no axial dispersion takes place for the adsorbate-adsorbent interactions. The model can be used for the favorable or the unfavorable isotherms, and the linearized form for the model is given by Eq. 10 (Thomas 1944),

where K_TH (mL/mg min) denotes the Thomas rate constant, the equilibrium adsorbate uptake is represented by q_o (mg/g), m (g) is the amount of the adsorbent present in the column, and the flow rate is denoted by Q (mL/min).

The rate constant (K_TH) and q_o (mg/g) were estimated from the linear plots of ln[(C_o/C_t)-1] against time, t(min). The estimated values of K_TH and q_o (mg/g) for the adsorption of AB and AG dyes in binary system are listed in Table 4.

The values of adsorption capacity, q_o (mg/g), increased with an increase in the initial dye concentration and bed depth. In contrast, q_o (mg/g) values decreased with an increase in the inlet dye flow rate. At a higher flow rate, the dye solution did not have enough time to diffuse into the whole QKCF adsorbent mass, resulting in a lower adsorption capacity. A similar trend was observed in the sorption of Brilliant Black dye onto chitosan beads impregnated with a cationic surfactant (Rouf and Nagapadma 2015).

Overall, the regression coefficient determined from the Thomas model indicated that the Thomas model could be used to predict adsorption performance for the adsorption of the AB and AG dyes in binary systems in a fixed-bed column.

Table 4. Thomas Model Parameters for AB and AG Dyes in Binary System at Different Conditions Using Linear Regression Analysis

Application of Yoon-Nelson model

A simple model was also developed by Yoon and Nelson (1984) for analyzing the column breakthrough performance. Decreasing the rate of the adsorption probability for each of the adsorbate particles is directly proportional to the likelihood of the adsorbate being adsorbed along with a likelihood of the occurrence of the adsorbate breakthrough taking place on the adsorbents (Baral et al.2009). The linearized form for the Yoon-Nelson model is given by Eq. 11,

where K_YN (min^-1) refers to the rate constant and τ is the time needed for a 50% breakthrough of the adsorbate.

In the Yoon-Nelson model, the parameters K_YN and τ are estimated from the linear plots of ln(C_t/(C_o – C_t)) vs. t(min). The estimated parameters are listed in Table 5 for the adsorption of AB and AG dyes in the binary systems.

Overall, the experimental data fit well with Yoon-Nelson model and had a regression coefficient ranging from 0.865 to 0.993. Table 5 shows that the rate constant K_YN increased with increasing the initial dye concentration and flow rate for column dynamics of the adsorption of AB and AG dyes in the binary system. In this study, the time required for 50% exhaustion of column, τ (min), increased with an increase in bed height. Moreover, the value of τ (min) decreased with an increase in the initial concentration and flow rate.

Table 5. Yoon-Nelson Model Parameters for AB and AG Dyes in Binary System at Different Conditions using Linear Regression Analysis

Application of Adams-Bohart model

The breakthrough characteristics were further analyzed by using the Adams- Bohart model. This model is based on the surface reaction theory and predicts that the equilibrium is not instantaneous. Hence, the researchers stated that the adsorption rate was proportional to the residual adsorbent capacity and the adsorbate concentration (Goel et al. 2005). The mathematical equation of the Adams-Bohart model is given by Eq. 12,

where C_o and C_t are the inlet and the outlet concentration of the dye molecules, respectively, Z (cm) is the height of the adsorbent bed, N_o (mg/L) denotes the maximal dye uptake ability per unit volume of the adsorbent bed, the linear velocity is represented by U_o (cm/min), and the mass transfer coefficient is denoted by K_AB (L/mg min).

When ln(C_t/C_o) values were plotted against time, t(min), the model constants, such as the mass transfer coefficient (K_AB) and maximum adsorption capacity (N_o), were determined from the slope and intercept of the curve. These values are shown in Table 6. A good correlation coefficient R² of more than 0.90 reflects that the model accurately describes the adsorption phenomenon of AB and AG dyes in a binary system.

Table 6. Adams-Bohart Model Parameters for AB and AG Dyes in Binary System at Different Conditions using Linear Regression Analysis

CONCLUSIONS

1. Quartenized kenaf core fiber (QKCF) bead packed in a column exhibited very high capacity for adsorption of anionic dye. The maximum adsorption capacities for Acid Blue 25 (AB) and Acid Green 25 (AG) dyes from binary systems were 162.7 and 147.4 mg/g, respectively.
2. The advantages of QKCF are due to its minimum cost of processing by utilizing the abundant availability of kenaf core fiber (KCF) in tropical countries and reducing the cost of energy, as no thermal treatment was needed during processing.
3. Fixed bed column adsorption studies of binary acid dyes (AB and AG) onto QKCF were found to perform better with lower adsorbate inlet concentration (20 mg/L), lower feed flow rate (5 mL/min) and higher QKCF bed height (8 cm) for fixed-bed column.
4. The breakthrough curves were analyzed by using the Thomas model, Adams-Bohart model, and Yoon-Nelson model. The experimental data were in good agreement with theoretical results. This indicates that all models could be used to predict adsorption performance for the adsorption of the AB and AG dyes from binary systems in a fixed-bed column.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and the engineering faculty of University Putra Malaysia for their facilities used throughout the research process. Furthermore, the authors acknowledge fiscal support from the ministry of higher education and scientific research in Iraq.

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Article submitted: July 3, 2017; Peer review completed: September 17, 2017; Revised version received: October 2, 2017; Accepted: October 4, 2017; Published: October 9, 2017.

DOI: 10.15376/biores.12.4.8870-8885