Removal of Methyl Violet and Cadmium from Aqueous Solution by Using Activated Carbon

Abstract

The present study was focused on removal of methyl violet and cadmium from aqueous solution by using activated carbon. The activated carbon was prepared from the pods of delonix regia. The activation is carried out by different methodologies - Pyrolysis activation, Sulfuric acid activation, Calcium chloride activation, Ammonium carbonate activation, Sodium sulphate activation, Sulfuric acid with ammonium per sulphate activation. The characteristic of this activated carbon was determined. The batch mode of studies carried out for methyl violet and Cd. The effective removal of dye solution was attained at 60 mins. The effect of optimum dosage, pH and initial concentration of adsorbate on the effective removal of cadmium has been studied. The maximum removal of Cd was observed at pH 6. Removal of cadmium increased from 75 to 100 % with increasing adsorbent dosage from 50 to 200 mg. It is revealed that the adsorbent follows the Longregan’s first order equation, Longmuir and Frendlich isotherm models. This study reveals that this activated carbon prepared from the parts pots of “Delonix regia” is following adsorption phenomena and it can be employed economically as an alternate to commercially available activated carbon.