Abstract

In recent years, adsorption has been accepted as one of the most appropriate processes for decolorization of wastewaters. This paper presents experimental results on application of peat for removal of structurally diverse dyes (azo, oxazine, triphenylmethane, thiazine and others) with emphasis on relevant factors such as the adsorbate-adsorbent chemical properties and chemical interaction as well as adsorption conditions. The equilibrium experimental results were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms to obtain the characteristics parameters of each model. According to the evaluation using the Langmuir equation, the maximum sorption capacity of basic dyes at 22°C was 667 (mg g-1) for Basic Blue 24,526 (mg g-1) for Basic Green 4 and 714 (mg g-1) for Basic Violet 4. On the other hand for Acid Black 1 it was only 25 (mg g-1). Batch kinetics studies were undertaken and the data evaluated in compliance with chemical sorption mechanisms. For all of the systems studied the psuedo-second order model provided the best correlation of the kinetic experimental data. A film-pore double resistance diffusion model for mass transfer has also been used in this study to determine the effective diffusivity, Deff, for the adsorption of basic dyes in to peat. © Selper Ltd, 2004.