Adsorptive Removal of Remazol Brilliant Blue R from Water by Using a Macroporous Polystyrene Resin: Isotherm and Kinetic Studies

The pollution of surface and drinking water with dyes is one growing problem. The present manuscript explains the application of a macroporous polystyrene resin called Amberlyst A21, as a new effective adsorbent in the removal of Remazol Brilliant Blue R dye from aqueous solutions. The Remazol Brilliant Blue R adsorption on the Amberlyst A21 was characterized based on various parameters such as solution pH, initial dye concentration, contact time and adsorbent dosage. The best adsorption conditions were: solution pH 2, contact time 150 min, Amberlyst A21 dosage of 1.0 g/L at 25 °C. The morphology of Amberlyst A21 was analyzed by FTIR and SEM techniques. Amberlyst A21 exhibited enhanced Remazol Brilliant Blue R removal behavior with maximum adsorption capacity of 208.33 mg/g based on the Langmuir isotherm model, which was higher than those of other previously reported adsorbents. Kinetic investigations showed that a pseudo-first order model was more suitable than the pseudo-second order model. The results indicate that Amberlyst A21, as an adsorbent, has great potential especially in the area of dye removal.