Influence of Sol Gel Conversion on the Adsorption Capacity of Crab Shell for the Removal of Crystal Violet from Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Anduang Ofuo Odiongenyi

The influence of concentration on the adsorption of crystal violet by crab shell (CS) and CaO nanoparticles (CaONP) produced from the shell by sol-gel method was investigated between an initial dye concentration range of 10 to 70 mg/L. The results indicated the equilibrium amount of dye adsorbed (Q_e) by  CaONP and CS to increase with an increase in concentration while the percentage removal efficiency ranged from 92.67 to 99.22 % and from 49.33 to 98.67 % for CaONP and CS respectively. CaONP was a better adsorbent than CS. The adsorption of the dye on both adsorbents fitted the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models but better fitness was observed for the nanoparticles. The adsorption of the dye on both adsorbents was deduced to occur through cooperative adsorption while the mechanism of physical adsorption was proposed. The study concluded that CaONP and CS can be an efficient adsorbents for the removal of crystal violet dye from an aqueous solution if operational parameters are properly optimized.