Colour removal from textile effluents using hardwood sawdust as an absorbent

Abstract

AbstractDecolourisation of a dilute solution of a basic dyestuff was carried out by using hardwood sawdust as adsorbent. At 80°C 85% decolourisation occurred within 100 min at an initial concentration (Co) of 200 mg dm−3. There was a 44% reduction in contact time when the temperature was raised from 25 to 80°C. The rate parameter for different initial dye concentrations was found to follow the equation: kco=4.20Co0.88 and the rate parameter for different mean diameter dm followed the equation kdm=4.1 (l/dm)0.135. The activation energy of the process was 9.83 kJ mol−1 which shows that the rate controlling step is intraparticle diffusion.