Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques
2019, Volume 7, Issue 2, Pages: 229-233
J. Environ. Treat. Tech.
Journal web link: http://www.jett.dormaj.com
Treatment of Dye Wastewater by
Functionalization of Bentonite-Methylene
Blue with Sodium Persulfate
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&4*
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, Parveen Fatemeh Rupani , Loh Kar Woon , Mohd Hafiz
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Asha Embrandiri
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Jamaludin , Mohd Azrul Naim , Jianzhong Sun , Weilan Shao and Suzy Ismail
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- Faculty of Agro-Based Industry, University Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, Kelantan, Malaysia
- Biofuels Institute, School of Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
- School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Nibong Tebal, Malaysia.
- Department of Biotechnology, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan, Malaysia.
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Received: 21/02/2019
Accepted: 02/05/2019
Published: 01/06/2019
Abstract
Bentonite has been effectively used in many studies for the removal of methylene blue (MB) laden waste waters. This is
due to its high swelling ratio, good adsorptive properties and environmentally friendly characteristics. In spite of this,
prolonged use renders the BMB non-functional and cause for discard. Sodium persulfate (SPS), has been reported to be an
excellent flocculating agent for the functionalization of spent adsorbent due to some of its unique properties. In this study,
the functionalization of spent bentonite-methylene blue (BMB) adsorbent in dye wastewater treatment was carried out using
SPS at varying temperature conditions. Results revealed that the addition of SPS to MB-loaded adsorbent demonstrated
efficient adsorption, high flocculation efficiency as well as faster equilibrium (60 min). The BMB loaded adsorbent showed
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5% removal efficiency up to three cycles. A plausible mechanism was proposed and discussed on the basis of the results.
Thus, exhausted BMB was found to be effectively used for treatment of coloured wastewater on an industrial scale.
Keywords: Bentonite; Methylene blue; Sodium persulfate; Dye wastewater; Functionalization.
of other industrial applications as well (9).
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Introduction1
Triarylmethane is also very useful in the laboratories for
staining purposes in microbiology and histo-pathological
techniques.
The textile industry utilises enormous volumes of
water as a medium range mill uses about 1.6 million
litres of water per day (1). Textile wastewater has
become a major cause of water pollution due to the
increasing the demand of textile products as well as the
utilization of synthetic dyes (2). Owing to the high
stability and extreme conditions, huge quantities of dyes
are not eliminated during conventional wastewater
treatment processes and remain in the ecosystem (3). Azo
dyes from the textile industry are reported to be
recalcitrant during their biodegradation and often
perceived as xenobiotic (4). In spite of this,
environmental legislation has made it mandatory for
industries to eliminate colour from their dye effluents
before discharge (5). Therefore, the textile industries
have received considerable attention in the recent years
In recent times low-cost adsorbents are being sought
after as the alternative for activated carbon in waste
water treatment (8, 10). These adsorbents are most often
natural materials, biosorbents and agricultural or
industrial waste materials. Amongst all other natural
materials, clay occupies a prominent position due to low
costs, easy availability, good sorption properties and
environmentally safe (10, 11). Adsorbents of clay origin
(diatomite, kaolinite, bentonite and fullers earth) are
utilized because of the presence of organic and inorganic
molecules (12). Bentonite, composed of montmorillonite
clay of the aluminum phyllosilicates group is a well-
known adsorbent used in wastewater treatment due to its
unique properties such as high porosity, surface area and
of high adsorption capacity (13, 14). The adsorption of
methylene blue on clay is controlled by the ion-exchange
processes. This implies that the adsorbing capacity
fluctuates with pH variation (15).
Removal of organic pollutants, phenol and dyes is
already an extensively studied area of waste water
research (16-18). However, investigation on regeneration
and recovery of adsorbed molecules on the adsorbent
surface is an area which needs to be explored. The reuse
of adsorbent is paramount to ensure an economical and
environmentally friendly process (19). Adsorbents can be
(6) with regards to effective removal methods.
Triarylmethane (triphenylmethane) a universally used
textile dye, makes up approximately 30%–40 % of the
overall dye consumption (7) and have been extensively
applied on wool, cotton, silk and nylon (8). It is used for
coloring food, paper, leather, plastics, waxes and a host
Corresponding author: Asha Embrandiri, Faculty of
Agro-Based Industry, University Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli
Campus, E-mail:
ashanty66@gmail.com. ORCID: 0000-0001-5038-3538.
Malaysia.
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