Optimization, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Study of Rhodamine B Removal by Zinc Chloride-activated Arachis hypogaea (Groundnut Husk) biochar

Adsorption of dye from industrial effluent before discharge into the environment has become a major challenge to the food, pharmaceutical, textile, photographic and cosmetic industries. This has led scientists to the search for suitable green solutions. Carbonized and zinc chloride activated Arachis hypogaea (groundnut husk) in a 1:1 ratio was used as an adsorbent for the removal of Rhodamine B from aqueous solution. The adsorbent was characterized by ash content, bulk density, moisture content, pH, Iodine number, surface area and functional group analyses. Key parameters such as initial pH, initial concentration of Rhodamine B dye, temperature and contact time were investigated. The equilibrium data obtained were correlated with Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms. It was found that both the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms fit well to the data. The Langmuir isotherm model best describes the uptake of Rhodamine B onto zinc chloride activated groundnut husk biochar with R2 > 0.997. Maximum Rhodamine B. dye removal was observed at a pH of 11.0, with an adsorbent dosage of 1.0 g, a contact time of 125 min, an initial dye concentration of 20 mg/L and a temperature at 315 K. The efficiency of zinc chloride activated groundnut husk biochar for Rhodamine B removal was 99.55% for dilute solutions at 50 g/L. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra recorded before and after activation showed the numbers of functional groups available for Rhodamine B. molecules to bind onto in the studied adsorbent. The kinetic data were best described by the pseudo-first-order and pseudo second-order models, while the thermodynamic studies indicated a spontaneous and endothermic nature in the adsorption of Rhodamine B by the zinc chloride modified groundnut husk. This research clearly details an innovative approach to utilizing carbonized and zinc chloride-activated Arachis hypogaea (groundnut husk) as an eco-friendly adsorbent for the removal of Rhodamine B from industrial effluents.