Removal of Direct Orange-46 from Aqueous Solutions Using MN-Diatomite

Abstract

Textile industry wastewater is an important pollution source that contains high concentration of inorganic and organic chemical species. Clay minerals are useful due to their chemical and mechanical stability, high surface area and structural properties. Diatomite is a pale-coloured, soft, lightweight sedimentary rock composed principally of silica microfossils of aquatic unicellular algae. Diatomite can be used as an adsorbent in wastewater treatment due to its unique combination of physical and chemical properties such as highly porous structure, low density and high surface area. Naturally occurring low cost diatomite as an adsorbent offers great potential for removing dyes from industrial wastewater. The aim of this work is to evaluate the removal of direct orange-46 from aqueous solution using manganese conditioned diatomite. The results from isotherm studies were evaluated with different isotherm models. The constants and correlation coefficients of these isotherm models for the present system were calculated and compared.