Abstract
In this study, we have reported a facile preparation of zeolite 4A from Ethiopia kaolin for the adsorptive removal of methylene blue (MB) dye. The formation of highly crystalline and pure phase zeolite 4A with cubic morphology was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. The efficiency of zeolite 4A for abatement of MB was investigated at varying adsorption parameters. Response surface methodology coupled with Box Behnken Design (RSM-BBD) was employed to optimize adsorption parameters. High regression (R2 = 0.9947) and the low probability (p value <0.0001) values signify the validity of the quadratic model to predict the removal (%) of MB. The maximum MB removal (%) was 99.37% at the optimum combination of 50 mL of 10 mg/L of MB, 39.05 mg zeolite 4A, and 179.82 contact time (min). The adjusted R-square (R2adj) and standard deviations (SD) were validated the best fitting of pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm model for experimental values. The maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) of zeolite 4A towards MB was found to be 44.35 mg g−1. Electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bond, and n to π bond formation are predicted to be the plausible interaction mechanism of MB to the surface of zeolite 4A. The Fukui function and vibration analysis based on the density functional theory (DFT) further strengthened the proposed mechanism.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Data Availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.
References
Lellis B, Fávaro-Polonio CZ, Pamphile JA, Polonio JC (2019) Effects of textile dyes on health and the environment and bioremediation potential of living organisms. Biotechnol Res Innov 3:275–290
Khatri J, Nidheesh PV, Anantha Singh TS, Suresh Kumar M (2018) Advanced oxidation processes based on zero-valent aluminium for treating textile wastewater. Chem Eng J 348:67–73
Chung K-T (2016) Azo dyes and human health: a review. J Environ Sci Health Part C 34:233–261
Brown MA, De Vito SC (1993) Predicting azo dye toxicity. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 23:249–324
Geçgel Ü, Kocabıyık B, Üner O (2015) Adsorptive Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution by the Activated Carbon Obtained from the Fruit of Catalpa bignonioides. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 226
Belachew N, Kahsay MH, Tadesse A, Basavaiah K (2020) Green synthesis of reduced graphene oxide grafted Ag/ZnO for photocatalytic abatement of methylene blue and antibacterial activities. J Environ Chem Eng 8:104106
Rafatullah M, Sulaiman O, Hashim R, Ahmad A (2010) Adsorption of methylene blue on low-cost adsorbents: a review. J Hazard Mater 177:70–80
Pathania D, Sharma S, Singh P (2017) Removal of methylene blue by adsorption onto activated carbon developed from Ficus carica bast. Arab J Chem 10:S1445–S1451
Anwer H, Mahmood A, Lee J, Kim KH, Park JW, Yip ACK (2019) Photocatalysts for degradation of dyes in industrial effluents: opportunities and challenges. Nano Res 12:955–972
Kasperchik VP, Yaskevich AL, Bil’dyukevich AV (2012) Wastewater treatment for removal of dyes by coagulation and membrane processes. Pet Chem 52:545–556
Thamaraiselvan C, Noel M (2015) Membrane processes for dye wastewater treatment: recent Progress in fouling control. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 45:1007–1040
Bhatia D, Sharma NR, Singh J, Kanwar RS (2017) Biological methods for textile dye removal from wastewater: a review. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 47:1836–1876
Belachew N, Rama Devi D, Basavaiah K (2016) Facile green synthesis of l-methionine capped magnetite nanoparticles for adsorption of pollutant Rhodamine B. J Mol Liq 224:713–720
Du F, Sun L, Huang Z et al (2020) Electrospun reduced graphene oxide/TiO2/poly(acrylonitrile-co-maleic acid) composite nanofibers for efficient adsorption and photocatalytic removal of malachite green and leucomalachite green. Chemosphere 239:124764
Yagub MT, Sen TK, Afroze S, Ang HM (2014) Dye and its removal from aqueous solution by adsorption: a review. Adv Colloid Interf Sci 209:172–184
Raval NP, Shah PU, Shah NK (2017) Malachite green “a cationic dye” and its removal from aqueous solution by adsorption. Appl Water Sci 7:3407–3445
Garcia RM, Machado Garcia R, Carleer R, et al (2020) Adsorption of Cibacron yellow F-4G dye onto activated carbons obtained from peanut hull and rice husk: kinetics and equilibrium studies. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery
Hameed KS, Shahul Hameed K, Muthirulan P, Meenakshi Sundaram M (2017) Adsorption of chromotrope dye onto activated carbons obtained from the seeds of various plants: equilibrium and kinetics studies. Arab J Chem 10:S2225–S2233
Druzian SP, Zanatta NP, Côrtes LN, Streit AFM, Dotto GL (2019) Preparation of chitin nanowhiskers and its application for crystal violet dye removal from wastewaters. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 26:28548–28557
Zhang L, Sellaoui L, Franco D, Dotto GL, Bajahzar A, Belmabrouk H, Bonilla-Petriciolet A, Oliveira MLS, Li Z (2020) Adsorption of dyes brilliant blue, sunset yellow and tartrazine from aqueous solution on chitosan: analytical interpretation via multilayer statistical physics model. Chem Eng J 382:122952
Tahir SS, Rauf N (2006) Removal of a cationic dye from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto bentonite clay. Chemosphere 63:1842–1848
Sarma GK, Sen Gupta S, Bhattacharyya KG (2019) Removal of hazardous basic dyes from aqueous solution by adsorption onto kaolinite and acid-treated kaolinite: kinetics, isotherm and mechanistic study. SN Applied Sciences 1
Deng L, Shi Z, Luo L, Chen SY, Yang LF, Yang XZ, Liu LS (2014) Adsorption of hexavalent chromium onto kaolin clay based adsorbent. J Cent South Univ 21:3918–3926
Boukhemkhem A, Rida K (2017) Improvement adsorption capacity of methylene blue onto modified Tamazert kaolin. Adsorption Sci Technol 35:753–773
Nandi BK, Goswami A, Das AK, Mondal B, Purkait MK (2008) Kinetic and equilibrium studies on the adsorption of crystal violet dye using kaolin as an adsorbent. Sep Sci Technol 43:1382–1403
Zen S, El Berrichi FZ (2016) Adsorption of tannery anionic dyes by modified kaolin from aqueous solution. Desalin Water Treat 57:6024–6032
Han H, Rafiq MK, Zhou T, Xu R, Mašek O, Li X (2019) A critical review of clay-based composites with enhanced adsorption performance for metal and organic pollutants. J Hazard Mater 369:780–796
Belachew N, Hinsene H (2020) Preparation of cationic surfactant-modified kaolin for enhanced adsorption of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution. Appl Water Sci 10:38
Belver C, Muñoz MAB, Vicente MA (2002) Chemical activation of a kaolinite under acid and alkaline conditions. Chem Mater 14:2033–2043
Magdy A, Fouad YO, Abdel-Aziz MH, Konsowa AH (2017) Synthesis and characterization of Fe 3 O 4 /kaolin magnetic nanocomposite and its application in wastewater treatment. J Ind Eng Chem 56:299–311
Frost RL, Makó É, Kristóf J, Horváth E, Kloprogge JT (2001) Modification of kaolinite surfaces by Mechanochemical treatment. Langmuir 17:4731–4738
Ayele L, Pérez-Pariente J, Chebude Y, Díaz I (2015) Synthesis of zeolite a from Ethiopian kaolin. Microporous Mesoporous Mater 215:29–36
Ayele L, Pérez E, Mayoral Á, Chebude Y, Díaz I (2018) Synthesis of zeolite a using raw kaolin from Ethiopia and its application in removal of Cr(III) from tannery wastewater. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 93:146–154
Johnson EBG, Arshad SE, Asik J (2014) Hydrothermal synthesis of zeolite a using natural kaolin from KG. Gading Bongawan Sabah. J Appl Sci 14:3282–3287
Wang P, Sun Q, Zhang Y, Cao J (2019) Synthesis of zeolite 4A from kaolin and its adsorption equilibrium of carbon dioxide. Materials 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12091536
Hildebrando EA, Andrade CGB, da Rocha Junior CAF et al (2014) Synthesis and characterization of zeolite NaP using kaolin waste as a source of silicon and aluminum. Mater Res 17:174–179
Caballero I, Colina FG, Costa J (2007) Synthesis of X-type zeolite from Dealuminated kaolin by reaction with sulfuric acid at high temperature. Ind Eng Chem Res 46:1029–1038
Kovo AS, Holmes SM (2010) Effect of aging on the synthesis of kaolin-based zeolite Y from Ahoko Nigeria using a novel Metakaolinization technique. J Dispers Sci Technol 31:442–448
Arshad SE, Yusslee EF, Rahman ML, et al (2017) Hydrothermal synthesis of free-template zeolite T from kaolin
Wang P, Sun Q, Zhang Y, Cao J (2019) One-step hydrothermal synthesis of zeolite KA from kaolin. Micro Nano Lett 14:1298–1302
Mackinnon IDR, Millar GJ, Stolz W (2012) Hydrothermal syntheses of zeolite N from kaolin. Appl Clay Sci 58:1–7
Kovo AS, Hernandez O, Holmes SM (2009) Synthesis and characterization of zeolite Y and ZSM-5 from Nigerian Ahoko kaolin using a novel, lower temperature, metakaolinization technique. J Mater Chem 19:6207
Eiad-ua A, Amnaphiang P, Asawaworarit P, et al (2018) Zeolite P from kaolin via hydrothermal method
Ugal JR, Hassan KH, Ali IH (2010) Preparation of type 4A zeolite from Iraqi kaolin: characterization and properties measurements. J Assoc Arab Univ Basic Appl Sci 9:2–5
Li W, Yan C, Hu W (2010) Synthesis and characterization of zeolite 4A from soft kaolin. Desalin Water Treat 22:87–90
Chandrasekhar S (1996) Influence of metakaolinization temperature on the formation of zeolite 4A from kaolin. Clay Miner 31:253–261
Du C, Yang H (2010) Synthesis and characterization of zeolite 4A-type desiccant from kaolin. Am Mineral 95:741–746
Fabbri B, Gualtieri S, Leonardi C (2013) Modifications induced by the thermal treatment of kaolin and determination of reactivity of metakaolin. Appl Clay Sci 73:2–10
Miao Q, Zhou Z, Yang J, Lu J, Yan S, Wang J (2009) Synthesis of NaA zeolite from kaolin source. Front Chem Eng China 3:8–11
Bish DL (1989) Rietveld refinement of non-hydrogen atomic positions in kaolinite. Clay Clay Miner 37:289–296
Zavareh S, Farrokhzad Z, Darvishi F (2018) Modification of zeolite 4A for use as an adsorbent for glyphosate and as an antibacterial agent for water. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 155:1–8
Tironi A, Trezza MA, Irassar EF, Scian AN (2012) Thermal treatment of kaolin: effect on the Pozzolanic activity. Procedia Mater Sci 1:343–350
Nakamoto K (2008) Infrared and Raman Spectra of Inorganic and Coordination Compounds, Part A and Part B, 2 Volume Set. Wiley-Interscience
Murali RS, Surya Murali R, Ismail AF et al (2014) Mixed matrix membranes of Pebax-1657 loaded with 4A zeolite for gaseous separations. Sep Purif Technol 129:1–8
Zou W, Bai H, Zhao L, Li K, Han R (2011) Characterization and properties of zeolite as adsorbent for removal of uranium(VI) from solution in fixed bed column. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 288:779–788
Dahani W, Subandrio S, Marwanza I, et al (2020) Direct transformation of Bangka kaolin to zeolite 4A: Effect of hydrothermal temperature. 3RD International postgraduate conference on materials, minerals & polymer (MAMIP) 2019
Cobas M, Sanromán MA, Pazos M (2014) Box–Behnken methodology for Cr (VI) and leather dyes removal by an eco-friendly biosorbent: F. vesiculosus. Bioresour Technol 160:166–174
Trinh H, Yusup S, Uemura Y (2018) Optimization and kinetic study of ultrasonic assisted esterification process from rubber seed oil. Bioresour Technol 247:51–57
Belachew N, Bekele G (2020) Synergy of magnetite intercalated Bentonite for enhanced adsorption of Congo red dye. Silicon 12:603–612
Cimirro NFGM, Lima EC, Cunha MR, Dias SLP, Thue PS, Mazzocato AC, Dotto GL, Gelesky MA, Pavan FA (2020) Removal of pharmaceutical compounds from aqueous solution by novel activated carbon synthesized from lovegrass (Poaceae). Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 27:21442–21454
Mukherjee K, Kedia A, Jagajjanani Rao K, Dhir S, Paria S (2015) Adsorption enhancement of methylene blue dye at kaolinite clay–water interface influenced by electrolyte solutions. RSC Adv 5:30654–30659
Ameh PO, Eddy NO (2016) Theoretical and experimental studies on the corrosion inhibition potentials of 3-nitrobenzoic acid for mild steel in 0.1 M H2SO4. Cogent Chemistry 2
Odoemelam SA, Emeh UN, Eddy NO (2018) Experimental and computational chemistry studies on the removal of methylene blue and malachite green dyes from aqueous solution by neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves. J Taibah Univ Sci 12:255–265
Acknowledgments
The authors grateful to Debre Berhan University and the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia for supporting the work.
Funding
Not applicable.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Neway Belachew works for: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Investigation, writing - original draft, and writing - review & editing. Hirpo Hinsene works for: Formal analysis and writing - review & editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing Interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Ethical Approval
Not applicable.
Consent to Participate
Not applicable.
Consent to Publish
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
ESM 1
(DOCX 1.35 mb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Belachew, N., Hinsene, H. Preparation of Zeolite 4A for Adsorptive Removal of Methylene Blue: Optimization, Kinetics, Isotherm, and Mechanism Study. Silicon 14, 1629–1641 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-020-00938-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-020-00938-9