Removal of two cationic dyes from a textile effluent by filtration-adsorption on wood sawdust

BACKGROUND: Wastewater from textile industry contains various contaminants such as dyes, surfactants and heavy metals. Textile dyes have synthetic origin and complex aromatic molecular structures that make them difficult to biodegrade when discharged in the ecosystem. The objective of this study was to examine the decolourisation of textile effluents containing cationic dyes by filtration-adsorption on wood sawdust from two different origins; fir as an example of a conifer tree, and beech as an example of a deciduous one, and to explain the adsorption mechanism. METHODS: The process of dye removal was applied to a synthetic effluent in batch mode. Adsorption experiments were performed by suspending sawdust in the effluent and analyzing the supernatant by spectrophotometry. The effectiveness of the treatment process was evaluated by measuring coloration. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Experimental results showed a significant potential for wood sawdust, especially coniferous sawdust, to remove cationic dyes from textile effluents. Adsorption kinetics was influenced by the initial dye concentration, nature and amount of sorbent as well as sorbent particle size. The adsorption followed a pseudo first-order kinetics. For both basic dyes, the Langmuir adsorption equation showed a better fit than the Freundlich equation. CONCLUSION: Filtration-adsorption using an inexpensive and readily available biosorbent provided an attractive alternative treatment for dye removal, and it does not generate any secondary pollution. Recommendations and Perspectives. Laboratory studies provide promising perspectives for the utilization of wood sawdust as renewable adsorbent for reducing pollution while enhancing the reuse of textile effluents. However, the treatment process needs to be applied to the other textile dye classes in order to be used on an industrial scale.