Simultaneous removal of binary mixture of Brilliant Green and Crystal Violet using derivative spectrophotometric determination, multivariate optimization and adsorption characterization of dyes on surfactant modified nano-γ-alumina

The present study deals with the simultaneous removal of Brilliant Green (BG) and Crystal Violet (CV) by surfactant-modified alumina. The utilization of alumina nanoparticles with an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)) as a novel and efficient adsorbent is successfully carried out to remove two cationic dyes from aqueous solutions in binary batch systems. A first-order derivative spectrophotometric method is developed for the simultaneous determination of BG and CV in binary solutions. The linear concentration range and limits of detection for the simultaneous determination of BG and CV were found to be: 1-20, 1-15 mg/L, 0.3 and 0.5 mg/L, respectively. The influence of various parameters, such as contact time, initial concentration of dyes and sorbent mass on the dye adsorption is investigated. A response surface methodology achieved through performing the Box-Behnken design is utilized to optimize the removal of dyes by surfactant-modified nanoparticle alumina through a batch adsorption process. The proposed quadratic model resulting from the Box-Behnken design approach fitted very well with the experimental data. The optimal conditions for dye removal were contact time t=50 min, sorbent dose=0.036 g, CBG (Initial BG concentration)=215 mg/L and CCV (Initial CV concentration)=170 mg/L. Furthermore, FT-IR analysis, the isotherms and kinetics of adsorption were also explored.