Adsorption of malachite green and Congo red dyes onto Maize husk: Optimization of process parameters

The objective of this study is to determine whether environment friendly maize husk (MH), a lignocellulosic agricultural by-product, can effectively remove Congo Red (CR) and Malachite Green (MG) dyes from aqueous solutions. Several experimental factors, such as adsorbent dosage, contact time, stirring speed, and pH, were examined in order to optimize the adsorption process. Adsorption efficiency raised within ideal dosage of 0.7 g for MG and 0.9 g for CR. For MG and CR, the contact times were found to be 50 and 60minutes respectively. It was discovered that the adsorption process was pH sensitive with the best removal of MG occurring at pH 5 and for CR above pH 8. Its potential as a low cost and sustainable adsorbent was validated by FTIR spectroscopy, which verified theefficient adsorption of dye molecules onto the MH surface through distinctive interactions with functional groups.