The removal of textile dyes by diatomite earth

Abstract

The adsorption of some textile dyes by diatomite was investigated using Sif Blau BRF (SB), Everzol Brill Red 3BS (EBR), and Int Yellow 5GF (IY). Adsorption of these textile dyes onto diatomite earth samples was studied by batch adsorption techniques at 30°C. The adsorption behavior of textile dyes on diatomite samples was investigated using a UV-vis spectrophotometric technique. The effect of particle size of diatomite, diatomite concentration, the effect of initial dye concentrations, and shaking time on adsorption was investigated. Adsorption coverage over the surface of diatomite was studied using two well-known isotherm models: Langmuir's and Freundlich's. These results suggest that the dye uptake process mediated by diatomite has a potential for large-scale treatment of textile mill discharges. According to the equilibrium studies, the selectivity sequence can be given as IY>SB>EBR. Values of the removal efficiency of the dyes ranged from 28.60 to 99.23%. These results show that natural diatomite holds great potential to remove textile dyes from wastewater. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.