Modified magnetite nanoparticles with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as superior adsorbent for rapid removal of the disperse dyes from wastewater of textile companies

This paper reports application of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) coated magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) as a novel adsorbent for removal of two types of disperse dyes, including disperse red 167, and disperse blue 183, from wastewater of textile companies. The effect of parameters including type of surfactant, pH of solution, surfactant concentration, and amount of salt, was investigated and optimized. The obtained results showed that the ratio of initial dye concentration to CTAB amounts has critical effect on removal processes so that removal efficiencies higher than 95% can be achieved even at high concentration of dyes as high as 500 mg l-1 when the ratio is optimum. Removal of dyes is very fast, and equilibrium is reached at times less than 10 min even for high concentration of the dyes. Very high adsorbent capacity (as high as 2000 mg g-1) was yielded for maximum tested concentration of the dyes (500 mg g-1). The obtained result was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis data. This study showed that CTAB coated Fe3O4 NPs is a very efficient adsorbent for removal of dyes from wastewater of textile companies and has high capacity under optimum conditions.