Methylene blue and Congo red dye elimination from synthetic wastewater using seed pod powder: isotherm and kinetic and mechanistic studies.

This research examined the effectiveness of using seed pods (ALB) as an adsorbent to remove dye effluents and clean up wastewater. More specifically, the binding capacity of methylene blue (MB) and Congo red (CR) dyes from aqueous solution using unmodified Albizia lebbeck seed pods (UALB) and citric acid modified Albizia lebbeck seed pods (CALB) were compared. The adsorbents underwent characterization the use of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Several operational factors were investigated using batch tests to ascertain their effects. These parameters included pH, adsorbent dose, interaction duration, and initial dye concentration. The residual dye concentrations were determined, and the data generated were fitted to equilibrium and kinetic models. In CALB and UALB, MB adsorption ideal pH values were 10 and 12, whereas CR optimal pH values were 3 and 2. Also, MB and CR equilibrium durations were 360 and 240 min, respectively. Temkin model best described the adsorption in CALB ( = 0.9916, 0.9484) whereas Freundlich worked well for UALB in MB and CR ( = 0.9626, 0.9871). Kinetic modeling of the adsorption data showed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model provided the best fit ( = 0.9998, 0.9999) for CALB and ( = 1, 0.9992) for UALB for both MB and CR dyes. Maximum adsorption for MB was 9.499 mg/g and for CR it was 8.628 mg/g, and the findings showed a positive linear correlation between the concentration of dye-ions and their adsorption ability. The CALB also demonstrated superior efficacy in the removal of MB (4.661 mg/g) dye relative to CR (4.113 mg/g). The results of this study demonstrate that the use of ALB, in both modified and unmodified forms, is a cost-effective and efficient approach for the removal of MB and CR from the aqueous environment.