Cellulose-Based beads for cationic dye removal in continuous adsorption

Adsorption in fixed-bed column was carried out by using cellulose-based adsorbent beads for the removal of methylene blue (MB) as cationic dye from aqueous solution. The cellulose adsorbent beads were prepared from cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) modified with poly(L-Lactic Acid) (PLLA). Beads prepared from pure CAB were also observed as comparison. The effect of flow rate parameter was investigated. Three kinetic models, which are Adam-Bohart model, Thomas model, and Yoon-Nelson model, were applied to the adsorption under experimental condition. The exhaustion time increased with the decrease of flow rate. Adsorption by using adsorbent beads from pure CAB possessed longer exhaustion time than adsorbent beads from CAB/PLLA (70/30). The experimental data fitted well with Yoon-Nelson and Thomas kinetic models showing that these models are suitable for describing the adsorption process and column design. The maximum adsorption capacity from both Yoon-Nelson and Thomas kinetic models was achieved by adsorbent beads from pure CAB which is 105.707 mg/g.