Dye removal from aqueous solution by raw maize corncob and H3PO4 activated maize corncob

The focus of this study is the investigation of removal ability of methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) dyes from aqueous solution by raw maize corncob (RMC) and H 3 PO 4 activated maize corncob (AMC). Maize corncobs were carbonized at 500 °C for 2 h, and then impregnated at a phosphoric acid to maize corncob ratio of 2.5 g/g. The impregnated maize corncob was activated in a tubular vertical furnace at 450 °C for 2 h. Samples were characterized by different methods. Adsorption experiments were carried out as a function of solution pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial concentration of dyes and the temperature. Experimental results show that the activation of maize corncob boosts four times the adsorption performance for the selected dyes. The adsorption process is very rapid and was pH dependent with high adsorption capacities in the basic range. The kinetic data were fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The best fit of equilibrium data was obtained by the Langmuir model with maximum monolayer adsorption capacities of 75.27 and 271.19 mg/g for MB, 76.42 and 313.63 mg/g for MG, respectively, in the case of RMC and AMC. The temperature did not have much influence on the adsorption performance.