Surfactant-modified alumina: an efficient adsorbent for malachite green removal from water environment.

Surface of alumina was modified with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), an anionic surfactant. The surfactant-modified alumina (SMA) was characterized by FTIR and thermal analysis. The SMA was then used for the removal of malachite green (MG; Basic Green 4), a well-known toxic cationic dye from aqueous environment. The removal of MG takes place in the micellar structure formed on alumina surface, and the process is called adsolubilization. All the studies were carried out in batch mode. The kinetic studies showed that 1 h contact time was sufficient to attain equilibrium. SMA was very efficient to remove MG up to 99% under optimum conditions. The concentration range of MG was 20–100 mg/L. The isotherm studies showed that it follows Langmuir model better than the Freundlich model. The maximum adsorption capacity was 185 mg/g. The effects of various parameters such as pH, presence of interfering ions (Cl−, NO3 −, H2PO4 −, SO4 2−, Fe2 +, Ca2 +) and organics (pesticides such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, atra...