Application of Pomegranate Seed Powder in the removal of Reactive Red 198 dye from aqueous solutions

Industrial effluents, especially the textile industry are discussed as one of the fundamental problems of the environment. Dyes are materials with complex structures that enter into the wastewater from different stages of the textile industry. Colors are often toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic. This study investigated the absorption efficiency of Reactive Red 198 dye from aqueous solutions by Pomegranate Seed powder. Methods and Materials: This study is an experimental research which was performed in laboratory scale in which Pomegranate Seed is crushed and milled with the use of electrical mill and ASTM standard sieves with a mesh size of 40 and 100. In this study, variables such as adsorbent dose (0.2 and 0.4 gr/100cc), initial dye concentration (25 and 50 mg/l) and contact time (10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120 min) have been studied in acidic conditions. Concentration of unknown color values was determined using a spectrophotometer UV / Vis (model SP-3000 Plus) in Maximum adsorption wave length (λmax), 518 nm. Results of this study showed that with increasing adsorbent dose and contact time, the removal efficiency increased while the amount of dye adsorbed per unit mass of adsorbent (qe) reduced. With increasing the initial dye concentration from 25 to 50 mg/l, the removal efficiency decreased. So that removal efficiency in the concentration of 25 mg/l in optimal conditions and the balance time was 79.44 % and in the concentration of 50 mg/l was equal to 62.6%. Investigation of dye adsorption kinetic for new adsorbent showed that Pseudo second kinetic model (R2 > 0.99) provides a Good agreement with data. Based on results, Pomegranate Seed powder as a new natural adsorbent is able to absorb the dyes as organic contaminant index with desirable absorption capacity from aqueous solutions.