The Removal of Reactive Red 228 Dye from Aqueous Solutions by Chitosan-modified Flax Shive

Flax shive (FS) is a byproduct from flax fiber separation. The use of absorbent prepared from chitosan-modified flax shive (CFS) has been studied for removal of reactive red dye (RR228) from aqueous solutions. CFS was characterized by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometry (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A batch adsorption study was conducted under various contact time, initial concentration, solution pH, and adsorbent dosage. It was found that the BET and Langmuir surface area of CFS were 1.772 m g and 3.057 m g, respectively. Results showed that CFS has the same pores as FS and that the –NH2 group on CFS is the main adsorption site for dye sorption. Equilibrium adsorption capacity could be reached within 480 min, and RR228 uptake was satisfactory at a pH of 2.0. The percentage removal were 100%, 100%, 90%, and 85% at pH 2.0 under dye concentrations of 10 mg/L, 20 mg/L, 30 mg/L, and 40 mg/L, respectively. The adsorption accurately fitted a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and a Langmuir isotherm model. It is proposed that CFS could be applied as a low-cost absorbent in removal of dyes from wastewater.