Removal of Rhodamine B by Activated Carbon-Assisted Ultrasound/Mechanical Agitation

In order to further increase the removal rate of the Rhodamine B solution, the removal of Rhodamine B from an aqueous solution using a combination of activated carbon and ultrasound/mechanical agitation was investigated. By comparing the removal rates of Rhodamine B solutions under several different experimental conditions, it is found that a combination of activated carbon and ultrasound/mechanical agitation can significantly enhance the removal efficiency of Rhodamine B solutions. Furthermore, the effects of activated carbon concentration, stirring speed, and initial concentration of Rhodamine B solution on its removal rate under the combination of activated carbon and ultrasound/mechanical agitation system were investigated. The results showed that Rhodamine B is more readily removed when the activated carbon concentration is 800 mg/L, the stirring speed is 300 r/min, and the initial concentration of the Rhodamine B solution is 30 mg/L. Under these optimized conditions, the removal rate of the Rhodamine B solution reaches 87% within 150 min. Finally, corresponding fluorescence experiments were designed to verify the pairwise synergistic effects among ultrasound, activated carbon, and mechanical agitation, supporting the discussion of the possible removal mechanism. This study provides a novel insight for the further enhancement of the removal efficiency of organic solutions.