Green and Efficient Reverse Micellar Extraction and Recovery of Mixed Ionic Dyes from Textile Effluent

Colored effluents discharged from textile and other industries pose a major threat to the environment. These effluents must be decolorized before discharging into the main streams. The present study explores a solvent extraction method for selective removal of dye from a cationic and anionic dye mixture by treating the dye mixture with reverse micelles of anionic and cationic surfactants in a stepwise manner. The effect of different parameters such as surfactant and dye concentration was also investigated. It has been found that the percentage extraction of dyes increased with increasing surfactant concentration and decreasing dye concentration. UV-visible absorption spectra were analyzed to evaluate the state of the dyes in bulk water before and after extraction with reverse micelles. The dyes were recovered successively by backward extraction and then reused. Their K/S values were also measured.