Abstract
A new, low-cost, available sorbent, cedar cone (CC), was tested for its ability to remove basic dye Rhodamine B (RhB) from aqueous solutions. Sorption kinetics of RhB from aqueous solution on CC were studied in a batch process. In order to understand the mechanisms of RhB sorption by CC, the models of Weber and Morris and Boyd were applied. It was found that For the intraparticle diffusion model the sorption of RhB by the CC is divided into three stages: (i) the instantaneous sorption or external surface sorption, (ii) the gradual sorption stage where intraparticle diffusion is the rate limiting and (iii) the final equilibrium stage where intraparticle diffusion starts to slow down due to the extremely low sorbate concentrations left in the solutions. The effects of operating conditions such as ionic strength, contact time and solution pH were studied. The results obtained show the ability of cedar cone for the elimination of RhB in aqueous solution. The ionic strength has no effect on the kinetics of sorption. The maximum sorption (4.55 mg g(-1)) was obtained at pH equal to 3. The contact time was estimated for 360 min. The sorption isotherms of RhB by the CC at different temperatures were studied. It was found that the isotherms showed the shape of type L, which means that there is no strong competition between the solvent and sorbate to occupy the sorption sites.