Use of adsorbent made from paper and cardboard waste for removal of congo red dye from water

Abstract

The textile industry is one of the most important light industries in the entire European Union. The main environmental problems of the textile industry are the high water consumption and its pollution, the variety of chemicals used and the high energy demand. It is important to note that the amount of dyes in textile industry wastewater is still not regulated. Recently, adsorbents with a large specific surface area and low weight, aerogels, have attracted great interest as promising materials for removing dyes from polluted water. Cellulose aerogels are inexpensive, non-toxic. During this study, the adsorption efficiency of Congo red, a dye used in the textile industry, was determined using an adsorbent synthesized from paper and cardboard waste. The total organic carbon concentration was chosen as an indicator of the concentration of the dye Congo red in the solution. Aerogel capsules of different compositions were tested, the cellulose content in them varied from 3% to 5%. For aerogel capsules containing 3% cellulose by total weight, at a dye concentration of 0.1 mg/l, a 74.55% reduction in total organic carbon was achieved, at 1.0 mg/l – 73.68%, at 2.0 mg/l – 67.45%, and at 5.0 mg/l – 57.98%. For aerogel capsules containing 5% cellulose by total weight, at 0.1 mg/l, 80.00% was achieved, at 1.0 mg/l – 76.04%, at 2.0 mg/l – 71.08%, and at 5.0 mg/l – 68.02%.