Utilisation of Cationic Surfactant Modified Grated Coconut Residue for the Removal of Reactive Orange 16 Dye from Aqueous Solutions: A Fixed-Bed Column Study
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v24i2.150
Keywords: Adsorption; cetylpyridinium chloride; grated coconut; fixed-bed column; Yoon-Nelson model
Abstract
The use of shredded coconut residue as a new low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Reactive Orange 16 (RO16) dye was investigated. A continuous adsorption technique on a fixed-bed column was used to remove RO16 using an adsorbent produced from grated coconut residue that had been chemically treated with the cationic surfactant cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC). The raw grated coconut (RGC) and surfactant modified grated coconut (SMGC) were characterised by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The FTIR spectra demonstrated CPC adherence to the SMGC, with two distinct peaks originating from CPC appearing at 2921 and 2853 cm-1. The FESEM image indicated that SMGC had an irregular and uneven surface. The column breakthrough investigation revealed that column characteristics such as adsorbent bed height and inlet dye flow rate impacted the results. Although breakthrough time increased with bed height, it was discovered that a higher initial dye input concentration and a quicker flow rate resulted in a shorter breakthrough time. The adsorption data were fitted to the Yoon-Nelson mathematical model for predicting breakthrough curves and timings. The findings of the Yoon-Nelson model for the 50% breakthrough time varied from 5.25 to 35.45 min. The results of this model agreed with the experimental data as the correlation coefficients, R2, for all three parameters were > 0.99. SMGC was thus found to be an efficient adsorbent for removing RO16 from aqueous solution.