THE COMBINATION OF WASTE PRODUCTS FROM CHITIN AND SAWDUST TO REMOVE ANIONIC AND CATIONIC DYES

The application of the immobilisation method – which consists of immobilising modified sawdust in a carrier, a chitosan gel – enabled the development of a new sorbent. By combining waste products from chitin and sawdust, the properties of both adsorbents were utilised. This paper evaluated the adsorption efficiency of four dyes – Reactive Yellow 84, Reactive Black 8, Basic Violet 10 and Basic Green 4 – on four adsorbents – chitin flakes, chitosan flakes, chitosan beads and sawdust immobilised in chitosan beads. The latter adsorbent showed good adsorption properties for both anionic and cationic dyes. The experimental results showed a relationship between the amount of adsorbed and desorbed dye and the type of adsorbent. Chitin flakes showed the lowest adsorption capacity, regardless of the type of dye. The immobilisation of modified sawdust in chitosan had a particularly positive effect on the binding efficiency of cationic dyes.