Resíduos sólidos de curtumes como adsorventes para a remoção de corantes em meio aquoso Solid waste from tanneries as adsorbent for the removal of dyes in aqueous medium

Abstract

The tanning process in the leather industry generates very high quantities of chromium-containing solid waste ("wet blue" leather). Environmental concerns and escalating landfill-costs are becoming increasingly serious problems for the leather industry and an alternative disposal is needed. In this work, we are presenting a novel application for this solid waste, which is the removal of organic contaminants from aqueous-solution. The adsorption isotherm of "wet blue" leather waste from the AUREA tanning company in Erechim-RS (Brazil) showed that this material presents high adsorption capacities of the reactive textile dyes.

Keywords

• "wet blue" leather
• contaminated effluents
• adsorption process