Biosorption of Methylene Blue from an aqueous solution using French green beans and Lotus Stem

Abstract

This paper explores the potential of French green beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris) and Lotus Stem (Nelumbo Nucifera) as potential low-cost adsorbents for the removal of Methylene Blue from wastewater. The studies were conducted with variation in parameters of pH, biomass concentration, contact time and initial dye concentration. The nature of the possible adsorbent and metal ion interactions was examined by the FTIR technique. Adsorption of Methylene Blue onto French green beans could be described by the Freundlich model while Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 62.5 mg/g was followed by Lotus Stem. The experimental data was modelled using pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order kinetic equations. Adsorption kinetics could be described by pseudo-second order equation.