PVA supported Microporous adsorbents for the remediation of dye house wastewater
Microporous activated carbons with high surface area are of great interest for the remediation of textile wastewater in a sustainable manner. An activated carbon prepared from Euphorbia antiquorum L (EAC) was impregnated with Polyvinyl alcohol solution to provide mechanical stability and increase the abrasion resistance. The surface area of EAC and PVAC were 918 and 713.8 m2/g respectively. An adsorption characteristic of the Polyvinyl Alcohol Supported Activated Carbon (PVAC) was analyzed with the help of pseudo first order and second order kinetic models. Both the adsorbents show maximum adsorption at a pH of 8. The pseudo second order model describes the kinetics with very high correlation coefficient of > 0.995. The Langmuir monolayer adsorption capacity was 49.42 and 50.45 mg/g for EAC and PVAC, respectively; further it increases with increase of temperature. Characteristics of PVAC and dye adsorption studies prove that PVA supported EAC is a promising adsorbent for the removal of colour from wastewater.