Adsorption of Congo Red dye by native amine and carboxyl modified biomass of Funalia trogii: Isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics mechanisms

Native, iminodiacetic acid and triethylenetetraamine modified biomasses of Funalia trogii were used for removal of Congo Red dye (CRD) from aqueous medium. The native and modified fungal biomasses were characterized using ATR-FTIR, Zeta potential, contact angle studies and analytical methods. FTIR studies of the native and chemically modified adsorbent preparations show that amine, carboxyl and hydroxyl groups are involved in the adsorption of the model dye (i.e., Congo Red). The maximum adsorption of the CRD on the native, carboxyl and amine groups modified fungal biomasses was obtained at pH 5.0. The amount of adsorbed dye on the adsorbent samples increased as the initial concentration of CRD in the solution increased to 200mg/L. The adsorption capacities of native, carboxyl groups and amine modified fungal preparations were 90.4, 153.6 and 193.7mg/g dry adsorbents, respectively. The data was fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model, and followed the pseudo-second-order equations. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔGo, ΔHo and ΔSo) were also calculated. The results showed that triethylenetetraamine (TETA) modified biomass of F. trogii presented an excellent dye removal performance and can be used in various environmental applications such as various micro-pollutants removal from aqueous medium.