Removal of Methylene Blue from Industrial Effluents Using Corncob Activated Carbon

Abstract

Water contamination by methylene blue (MB) is a threat to human health and aquatic biota due to its toxicity, persistence, and non-biodegradability. However, there is little data available in the literature on the methylene blue removal approach from industrial effluents by corncob-activated carbon. The purpose of this study was to investigate the adsorption of methylene blue from aqueous solution and industrial effluents by corncob-activated carbon. The methylene blue adsorption capacities of corncob-activated carbon were investigated by batch adsorption experiments both in synthetic solutions and industrial effluents. The optimum pH value was 10.3 with a removal percentage of 93.4 %. Methylene blue adsorption by activated carbon followed second-order kinetics and was well fitted by the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) value was 11.36 mg/g. This study revealed that corncob-activated carbon has successfully removed methylene blue from industrial effluents, with percentages ranging from 65.14 %, and 76.28 %. The excellent methylene blue dye removal efficiency with corncob activated from industry effluents suggests its promising potential in remediating methylene blue contaminated wastewater.