REMOVAL OF METHYLENE BLUE DYE FROM A SYNTHETIC WASTEWATER USING ACID ACTIVATED PARTHENIUM WEED CARBON-ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
When textile wastewater is discharged into an aquatic environment, persistent dyes pose a significant environmental risk. This reduces photosynthetic activity; some dyes are carcinogenic and cause serious threats to human health. Inthis study, methylene blue dye was adsorbed from a synthetic wastewater using activated carbon derived fromtheparthenium hysterophorus weed as a bio-adsorbent. Sulfuric acid was used for the activation process; both batchstudies and response surface methodology (RSM) were employed. A 3-level, 3-factor box-behnken design was usedfor the study. Variation in dynamic parameters like adsorbate (100-1500 mg/l) and adsorbent (0.5-4.0 g), alongwithpH (4.5-11.5) and contact time (30-120 min) to determine the optimum values. This model best fits the Langmuir isotherm (R² = 0.99). The adsorption efficiency was found to be between 95% and 99%, with experimental resultsshowing good agreement with predicted values. The regression model was found to be significant, as indicatedbythe analysis of variance, which showed a high coefficient of determination (R² = 0.98). SEM, FTIR, and XRDwererecorded, which show good surface morphology. The findings from batch studies help future studies, suchascontinuous fixed-bed adsorption and real-time monitoring using IoT. The study shows the significance of parthenium in dye removal as a huge bio-adsorbent for practical industrial application because of its large biomass. Hence, the bio-adsorbents are beneficially used to treat industrial wastewater for a sustainable ecologyandenvironment. Utilization of unwanted weeds as a useful product in industrial applications makes themmoresustainable.
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