Reactive dyes from industrial processes merit considerable attention because they are discharged in great quantities into recipient waters. In this study, activated carbon prepared from Theobroma cacao pods, by-products of cocoa processing, was used to remove Reactive Yellow 145 (RY 145) dye from simulated textile wastewater in batch experiments. The effects of operating parameters namely, initial dye concentration, contact time and adsorbent dose on residual RY 145 concentration were evaluated. Central composite design (CCD) was used to optimize these operating parameters resulting in RY 145 removals up to 90% within 1.5 hours. Chemisorption was found to be the dominant adsorption mechanism in this study as indicated by the high correlation of experimental data with both the Temkin isotherm (R2 = 0.978) and the pseudo-second order kinetic model (R2 = 0.999). The results of the study suggest that cocoa pod activated carbon (CPAC) serves as an attractive alternative for the treatment of dye-contaminated wastewaters.

Removal of Reactive Yellow 145 from simulated dye wastewater by <i>Theobroma cacao</i> pod-derived adsorbents

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.

Removal of Reactive Yellow 145 from simulated dye wastewater by Theobroma cacao pod-derived adsorbents