Removal of methylene blue dye using oil cake (karanja)

Abstract

The feasibility of karanjia oil cake as a precursor for the preparation of activated carbon for the removal of methylene blue was investigated. The effect of various factors such as contact time, temperature, solution pH, amount of adsorbent and the initial dye concentration, was studied. The experimental data were analysed by the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The adsorption isotherm obtained was described accurately by both the isotherms. The maximum removal of methylene blue was found to be 91.62 %.Two simplified kinetic models, pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equation were selected to follow the adsorption processes. Kinetic studies showed that the adsorption followed pseudo-second order kinetic model. The results in the study indicate that the activated carbon prepared from karanjia oil cake could be used for the removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution.