Optimization of Congo red dye adsorption from wastewater by a modified commercial zeolite catalyst using response surface modeling approach

In the present work, Zeolite A was modified by using hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMABr) for adsorption of the Congo red (CR) dye from synthetic aqueous solutions. The Modified Zeolite A (MZA) was characterized by XRD, SEM, and FTIR. The influence of solution pH (in the 4-12 range), ionic strength (0.1-1 M), contact time (180 min), initial CR concentration (20-60 mg/L), temperature (24-36 degrees C), and an adsorbent dose (1-3 g m/L) on the % dye removal and adsorbent capacity were studied. A combined effect of the initial CR concentration and temperature on the CR removal % by MZA was also studied by applying response surface methodology (RSM). Experimental values were in a good agreement with those predicated by a second-order quartic model. A maximum of 99.24% dye removal and adsorbent capacity of 21.11 mg/g was achieved under the following conditions: pH = 7, initial CR concentration = 60 mg/L, temperature = 24 degrees C, ionic strength = 0.1 M, adsorbent dose = 3 g/L and 90 min contact time. The equilibrium data were subjected to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms, with the latter providing the best fit while kinetic adsorption studies were conducted by applying three models. The results indicated that the removal process was best described by the pseudo-second-order model. The present study demonstrates that modified MZA can be utilized for the highly efficient CR dye removal.