Abstract
In this study, a new magnetic adsorbent, strontium ferrite-bentonite-CoNiAl composite (SF-B-CoNiAl), was synthesized via co-precipitation technique and employed for the adsorptive removal of two anionic dyes, Eriochrome Black T (EBT) and Methyl Orange (MO) from water. The surface functionalities, structure and morphology of the new adsorbent (SF-B-CoNiAl) were evaluated via scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The batch experiments indicated that the experimental adsorption capacity of SF-B-CoNiAl was 329.61 and 219.56 mg/g for EBT and MO, respectively. Freundlich isotherm best fitted the experimental data signifying heterogeneous surface with multilayer dyes uptake. The adsorption process of anionic dyes onto SF-B-CoNiAl involves both physisorption and chemisorption. The kinetic data of MO and EBT adsorption by SF-B-CoNiAl were well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The prepared adsorbent exhibited good recyclability that demonstrates their potential for application in water purification.