Adsorption of Rhodamine B dye from solution using 3-((1-(4-((1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)amino)phenyl)ethylidene)amino)phenol (BIAPEHB)/ P(AA-co-AM) composite

Abstract

The removal of organic pollutants from aquatic environments is a pressing global concern due to their adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. Rhodamine B (RhB), a widely used dye, poses a significant threat to water quality. This study investigates the adsorption of RhB dye onto 3-((1-(4-((1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)amino)phenyl)ethylidene)amino)phenol (BIAPEHB)/ P(AA-co-AM) composite as a potential solution to this environmental challenge. The adsorbent was synthesized by free-radical polymerization method and characterized using various techniques, confirming successful synthesis of composite. The efficiency of RhB dye removal from water highly depend on contact time (1–300 min), dye concentration (50–1000 mg/L), solution temperature (10 °C to 40 °C), pH (2−10), dose of BIAPEHB (0.08 g to 0.16 g) and BIAPEHB/P(AA-co-AM) composite (0.01 g to 0.1 g). Optimized parameters include contact time of 120 min at pH 10 using 0.12 g of BIAPEHB loading to prepare composite. Lower temperature favors dye adsorption with 0.1 g of composite dose where 99.53 % RhB dye removal observed. Analysis revealed pseudo second model and Langmuir model as best fitted models. Thermodynamically, studied process was feasible and spontaneous. The composite's effectiveness in treating actual industrial wastewater containing RhB and other dyes demonstrates its potential for practical applications in wastewater treatment.

Keywords

• BIAPEHB/P(AA-co-AM) composite
• Rhodamine B dye
• Adsorption
• Isotherms and kinetics
• Thermodynamics