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Removal of Methylene Blue by Activated Carbon

Prepared from Waste in a Fixed-Bed Column

Çiğdem Sarici-Özdemir

To cite this article: Çiğdem Sarici-Özdemir (2014) Removal of Methylene Blue by Activated
Carbon Prepared from Waste in a Fixed-Bed Column, Particulate Science and Technology, 32:3,
311-318, DOI: 10.1080/02726351.2013.851132

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02726351.2013.851132

Published online: 21 Mar 2014.

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Particulate Science and Technology, 32: 311–318
Copyright # 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0272-6351 print=1548-0046 online
DOI: 10.1080/02726351.2013.851132

Removal of Methylene Blue by Activated Carbon

Prepared from Waste in a Fixed-Bed Column
ÇIĞDEM SARICI-ÖZDEMIR
Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Inonu University, Malatya, Turkey

In this study, the ability of activated carbon prepared from waste to adsorb methylene blue from aqueous solution was investigated
in a fixed-bed column. The effect of flow rate and inlet methylene blue concentration on the adsorption characteristics of activated
carbon was investigated at 25
C. Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption models have been used to represent the column equilibrium
data. The Langmuir constants of Qo and b were determined as 6.38 mg  g1 and 0.34 L  mg1, respectively. The results showed
that the equilibrium data fitted Langmuir isotherm within the concentration range studied. Four kinetic models, Adams-Bohart,
Wolborska, Thomas, and Yoon-Nelson, were applied to experimental data to predict the break-through curves and determine the
characteristic parameters of the column useful for process design. Results also indicate that the adsorption process can only deal
with lower flow rates and lower concentrations of methylene blue solution if a high percentage of removal is required for extended
periods. All models were found suitable for methylene blue adsorption onto activated carbon.
Keywords: Activated carbon, column adsorption, methylene blue, Thomas model

1. Introduction of wood, coal, and waste (Şentorun-Shalaby et al. 2006;

The textile industry is producing increasing amounts of waste
because of ground dye consumption. Dyes are toxic to aqua-
tic life and do have carcinogenic, teratogenic, and mutagenic
effects on aquatic organisms (Mathur et al. 2006). The
removal of dye from wastewater is a major problem due to
difficulty in treating such wastewaters with conventional
treatment methods. These processes are costly and cannot
effectively be used to treat wastewater consisting of a wide
range of dyes. Liquid phase adsorption processes have been
shown to be highly efficient for removal of colours, odor,
and organic and inorganic pollutants from in textile
wastewater (Robinson et al. 2001; Bada et al. 2013). Recently,
various kinds of adsorbents have been used as low-cost
adsorbents for removal of heavy metals, organics, and dyes
from solutions (Chen and Lin 2001; Şentorun-Shalaby et al.
2006). Activated carbon has many applications, one of which
is as an efficient and versatile adsorbent for dye adsorption
(Al-Degs et al. 2008; Attia et al. 2008; Yener et al. 2008).
The adsorption capacity of activated carbon depends on
various factors such as surface area, pore size distribution,
and surface functional groups on the adsorbent. Much of
this surface area has micropores and mesopores. Activated
carbon is manufactured by the carbonization and activation
Address correspondence to: Çiğdem Sarici-Özdemir, Inonu
University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Chemical
Engineering, 44280, Malatya, Turkey. E-mail: cigdem.ozdemir@
inonu.edu.tr
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be
found online at www.tandfonline.com/upst.
Hameed et al. 2008; Kenniche and Aissani 2009).
Methylene blue (MB) is the most important basic dye
(Han et al. 2009). It is widely used as a stain and has
a number of biological uses (Albert et al. 2003). Methylene
blue is seen in some medical uses in large quantities. It
can also be widely using in coloring paper, dying cottons
and wools, and for coating for paper stocks. Methylene blue
is not regarded as acutely toxic, but it can have various
harmful effects (Ponnusami et al. 2008).
In this study, attempt was made to remove MB by using
activated carbon as adsorbent. The study has demonstrated
the potential of activated carbon for the removal of MB from
solution in a continuous packed bed column. The column
MB adsorption equilibrium data was fitted by the use of
Langmuir and Freundlich models. Several kinds of models
are also applied to experimental data to simulate the break-
through curves in order to predict the scale up a unit plant.
2. Equilibrium and Kinetic Description in Column
Fixed-bed columns are widely used in various chemical
industries because of their simple operation (Chen and Lin
2001). Column is an effective process for cyclic adsorption=
desorption as it makes the best use of the concentration
difference known to be a driving force for adsorption, and
allows more efficient utilization of the adsorbent capacity
and results in a better quality of the effluent (Aksu and
Gönen; 2004). The performance of fixed-bed columns
is described through the concept of a breakthrough curve.
As shown in Figure 1, the major part of the adsorption
at any time takes place in a relatively narrow adsorption.
312 Sarici-Özdemir

Equilibrium methylene blue uptake in the column or

maximum capacity of the column (qe) was defined by
Equation (7) as the total amount of MB adsorbed (qtotal)
per gram of the adsorbent (X) at the end of the total flow
time (Aksu and Gönen 2004).
qtotal
qe ¼ : ð7Þ
X
Unadsorbed MB concentration at equilibrium in the col-
umn Ce (mg  L1) can be defined by Equation (8)
mtotal  qtotal
Ce ¼  1000: ð8Þ
Veff
Optimization of the design of an adsorption system is
important to establish the equilibrium data for each system.
Among the several isotherm models available, the Langmuir
Fig. 1. Determination of capacity of column from breakthrough and Freundlich isotherms are the most frequently used ones.
curve. The adsorbed layer is unimolecular in Langmuir models.
The model can be represented in the following linear form
As the solution continues to flow, the mass transfer zero (Langmuir 1918)
which is S-shaped moves down the column. Ce 1 Ce
The total shaded area represents the total or stoichio- ¼ þ ; ð9Þ
qe Qo  b Qo
metric capacity of the bed as follows (Chen and Lin 2001),
ð1
 where Qo is the is the maximum adsorbed amount in
tt ¼ 1
C
 dt; ð1Þ the Langmuir isotherm (mg  g1) and b is the Langmuir
0 C0 constant related to energy of adsorption(L  mg1). Qo and
b can be determined from the linear plot of Ce=qe versus Ce.
where tt is the time equivalent to the total capacity (min),
The Freundlich adsorption model is a characteristic of
Co and C (mg  L1), the inlet and outlet concentration of
heterogeneous surfaces. The Freundlich adsorption isotherm
the contaminant solution respectively. The usable capacity
can be expressed follows (Freundlich 1906)
of the bed up to the break point time tb is the hatched area,
ð tb
 1
C log qe ¼ log Kf þ log Ce ; ð10Þ
tu ¼ 1  dt; ð2Þ n
0 C0
where Kf is a constant for the system related to the bonding
where tu is the time equivalent to the usable capacity of the energy. The 1=n value indicates the relative distribution of
bed. The value of tu is usually very close to that of tb. high-energy sites and depends on the nature and strength
The total bed length being HT (cm) and bed length of the adsorption process.
used up to break point represented as HB; The breakthrough usually occurs when effluent con-
tu centration from the column is about 3–5% of the influent
HB ¼  HT : ð3Þ
tt concentration. The number of bed volumes (BV) is defined as:
The length of unused bed HUNB is then the unused volume of solution treated
fraction the total length; number of bed volumes ¼

 volume of adsorbent bed
tu operating time
HUNB ¼ 1   HT : ð4Þ ¼ : ð11Þ
tt EBRT
The total adsorbed MB quantity, qtotal (mg) in the
column for a given inlet concentration and flow rate was The adsorbent empty bed residence time EBRT is the
calculated from Equation (5) (Chen and Lin 2001; Aksu time required for the liquid to fill the empty column.
and Gönen; 2004). bed volume
ð EBRT ¼ : ð12Þ
Q t¼ttotal volumetric flow rate of the liquid
qtotal ¼ Cad  dt; ð5Þ
1000 t¼0
The adsorbent exhaustion rate is the mass of adsorbent
where Cad (mg  L1) is the adsorbed MB concentration, Q used per volume of liquid treated at breakthrough.
is the volumetric flow rate (mL  min1) and ttotal is the total
adsorbent exhaustion rate
flow time (min).
Total amount of MB sent to column (mtotal) is calculated mass of adsorbent in column
¼ : ð13Þ
from Equation (6) volume treated at breakthrough
Co  Q  ttotal
mtotal ¼ : ð6Þ Different equations derived for model adsorption with theor-
1000 etical are differential in nature and usually require complex
Removal of Methylene Blue by Activated Carbon 313

numerical methods to solve. Such a numerical solution is not n << Uo and the axial diffusion negligible D ! 0 as t ! 0,
usually difficult, but often does not fit experimental results well. the solution can be approximated to:
Various simple mathematical methods have been developed to
predict the dynamic behavior of the column and the following C b  Co b z
ln ¼ a t a : ð19Þ
models characterizing fixed-bed performance are examined Co No Uo
(Yoon and Nelson 1984; Rao and Viraraghovan 2002). The drawing of ln C=Co versus t would also give information
on this model (Wolborska 1989; Guibal et al. 1995).
2.1 The Adam-Bohart Model
The Adam-Bohart adsorption model was applied to describe 2.3 Thomas Model
the initial part of the breakthrough curve. This model The Thomas solution is used methods in column performance
assumes that the adsorption rate is proportional to both theory. The model has the following form:
the residual capacity of the activated carbon and the concen-
tration of the sorbing species. The mass transfer rates obey C 1
¼  ; ð20Þ
the following equations: Co 1 þ exp kTH ðqo  X  Co  Veff Þ
Q

dq where kTH is the Thomas rate constant (mL  min1  mg1)

¼ kAB  q  Cb ð14Þ and qo is the maximum solid-phase concentration of the
dt
solute (mg  g1). The linearized form of the Thomas model
dCb kAB
¼  q  Cb ; ð15Þ is as follows
dz U0


where kAB is the kinetic constant (L  mg1  min1), Cb is the Co kTH  qe  X kTH  Co
ln 1 ¼   Veff ; ð21Þ
bulk MB concentration in the solution in the column C Q Q
(mg  L1) and Uo is the superficial velocity (cm  min1). Some The Thomas or reaction model assumes Langmuir
assumptions are made for the solution of these differential kinetics of adsorption desorption and no axial dispersion is
equation systems. derived with the adsorption that the rate driving force obeys
i. Concentration field is considered to be low, for example, second-order reversible reaction kinetics (Thomas 1944).
effluent concentration C < 0.15 Co
ii. for t ! 1 q ! No (where No is the maximum adsorption 2.4 Yoon and Nelson Model
capacity (mg  g1)).
Yoon and Nelson have developed a relatively simple model
When the differential equation system is solved, the addressing the adsorption and breakthrough of adsorbate
following equation is obtained with parameters kAB and No vapors of gases with respect to activated charcoal. The
model is named on the assumption that the rate of decrease
C z in the probability of adsorption for each adsorbate molecule
ln ¼ kAB  Co  t  kAB  No ; ð16Þ
Co Uo is proportional to the probability of adsorbate adsorption
where Co and C are the inlet and effluent MB concentrations and the probability of adsorbate breakthrough on the
(mg  L1), respectively (Guibal et al. 1995; Texier et al. adsorbent. The Yoon and Nelson equation regarding a single-
2002). component system is expressed as:
C
2.2 The Wolborska Model ln ¼ kYN  t  s  kYN ; ð22Þ
Co  C
The Wolborska model is also used for investigation of where kYN is the rate constant (min1), s is the time required
adsorption dynamics using mass transfer equations for for 50% adsorbate breakthrough (min), and t is the break-
diffusion mechanisms in the range of the low concentration through (sampling) time (min) (Yoon and Nelson 1984).
breakthrough curve. The mass transfer in the fixed-bed
sorption is described by the following equations:
2.5 Error Analysis



2 
@Cb @Cb @q @ Cb In order to evaluate the fitness of the kinetic models to the
þ Uo þ ¼D ð17Þ experimental dynamic data, an error function is required
@t @z @t @2z

 to enable optimization procedure combining the values of
@q @q determined coefficient (R2) from regressive analysis. In this
¼ n ¼ ba ðCb  Cs Þ; ð18Þ
@t @z study, the values of e were determined.
where Cs is the MB concentration at the solid=liquid interface N hðC=C Þ ðC=C Þ i
P o exp o th
(mg  L1); D the axial diffusion coefficient (cm2  min1); n is ðC=Co Þexp
the migration rate (cm  min1); and ba is the kinetic constant e¼
i¼1
 100; ð23Þ
coefficient of the external mass transfer (min1). With some N
assumptions previously described by Wolborska Cs << Cb, where N is the number of measurements.
314 Sarici-Özdemir

3. Experimental
3.1 Materials
Methylene blue is a heterocyclic aromatic chemical compound
with molecular formula C16H18N3SCl.
Studies were carried out by preparing the stock solution of
500 mg  L1 concentration in doubly distilled water. Working
solutions of the desired concentrations were obtained by
successive dilutions.

3.2 Prepared Activated Carbon

Activated carbon utilized in this study was produced (35%)
polyester, (55%) polyamid, and (10%) cotton. Elemental
analysis of carbon for the waste was 55.8%. In the first
step of activation, the waste was mixed with K2CO3 at
the K2CO3: waste weight ratio of 1:1 and the mixture was
kneaded by adding distillated water. The mixture was then
dried at 110
C to prepare the impregnated sample.
In the second step, the impregnated sample was placed on
a quartz dish which was then inserted in a quartz tube
(i.d. ¼ 60 mm). The impregnated sample was heated upto
activation temperature (800
C) under N2 flow
(100 mL  min ) at the rate of 10
C  min1 and maintained
1

the activation temperature for 1 h. The activated sample was

washed sequentially several times with hot distillated water
to remove residual chemical. The washed sample was dried
at 110
C for 24 h to prepare activated carbon.
A Tri Star 3000 (Micromeritics, USA) surface analyzer
was used to measure nitrogen adsorption isotherm at 77 K
with relative pressure at the range of 106 to 1. The BET
(Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) surface area and average pore
radius were obtained from the adsorption isotherm. The
surface area measured as BET was 1066 m2  g1, the average
pore radius 3.35 nm and the total volume 0.62 cm3  g1.
3.3 Column Studies
Continuous-fixed bed column studies were performed in
a fixed-bed mini column reactor with an inside diameter of
1.5 cm and a column height of 40 cm. The bed length used
in this experiment was 6 cm and all test conducted were carried
out at 25
C. Known dye concentration (50, 75, 100 mg  L1)
was pumped at a fixed flow rate (5, 10, 15 mL  min1) to
a required bed height of the adsorbent. The MB solutions at
the outlet of the column were collected at regular time intervals
and the concentration was measured using UV-visible spectro-
photometer at 662 nm (Ponnusami et al. 2009). After almost
95–98% exhaustion, the column operation was stopped.
4. Result and Discussion
4.1 Effect of Flow Rate
To investigate the effect of flow rate on the adsorption of the
MB by activated carbon, the inlet dye concentration in the
feed was held constant at 50 mg  L1 while the flow rate
was changed from 5 to 15 mg  L1. Breakthrough curves
C=Co versus time t are shown in Figure 2a. As indicated in
Figure 2a, at the lowest flow rate of 5 mL  min1 relatively
Fig. 2. Effect of flow rate and inital MB concentration on
breakthrough curve.
higher uptake values were observed for MB adsorption by
activated carbon in the beginning of the column operation.
As the solution continued to flow the concentration of MB
in the effluent rapidly increased. The bed became saturated
with MB and the concentration of the solute in the effluent
suddenly rose to the inlet MB concentration.
As shown in Table 1 the breakthrough occurs at (td) 51, 25,
and 16 min, while HB was investigated at 1.80, 1.66, and 1.33 cm
for flow rate 5, 10, 15 mL  min1, respectively. The maximum
bed capacities for the respective flow rates were found to
be 6.20, 5.60, and 4.95 mg  g1, respectively. As the flow rate
increased, the breakthrough curve become steeper. The break
point time and adsorbed dye concentration decreased. This
behavior can be explained that dye concentration by activated
carbon is affected by inadequate residence time of the solute
in the column. The diffusion of the solute in the pores of
activated carbon and the limited number of active sites.
Table 1 shows EBRT of 2.12, 1.06, and 0.71 attained at BV
of 24.06, 23.58, and 22.30, with an adsorbent exhaustion rates
of 3.92, 8.0, and 12.50 (%) for flow rates 5, 10, and 15 mL.
min1, respectively. As the flow rate increased, adsorbent
exhaustion rate increased. Higher EBRT MB ions had more
time to contact with activated carbon which resulted in higher
removal of MB molecules in fixed-bed column. Methylene
blue uptake amount increased slightly with an increase of
EBRT. The removal seems to be same if the concentration
versus bed volumes were plotted. The insignificant difference
in the EBRT values is the major reason for this observation.
The BV is a function of properties of the solutions and
the carbons. If the EBRT is lower, dye molecules do not
Removal of Methylene Blue by Activated Carbon 315
Table 1. Column data and parameters obtained at different flow rates and concentration

Flow rate Concentration td tt tb HB HUNB qe Exhaustion

(mL  min1) (mg  L1) (min) (min) (min) (cm) (cm) (mg  g1) EBRT BV rate (%)

5 50 51 30.0 9 1.80 4.20 6.20 2.12 24.06 3.92

10 50 25 14.5 4 1.66 4.34 5.60 1.06 23.58 8.00
15 50 16 9.0 2 1.33 4.67 4.95 0.71 22.53 12.5
5 75 30 17.5 5 1.71 4.29 6.50 2.12 14.15 6.70
5 100 22 12.0 2 1.00 5.00 7.00 2.12 10.38 9.10

have enough time to react with functional groups, which

consequently results in a shorter BV.

4.2 Effect of Inlet Dye Concentration

Adsorption experiments were conducted in fixed-bed
columns with varying different influent dye concentrations.
The effect of variation from 50 to 100 mg  L1 with the inlet
concentration of the solution used with a linear flow rate of
5 mL  min1 is shown in Figure 2b. It can be seen that a rise
in the inlet dye concentration reduces the volume treated
before the packed bed gets saturated as shown in Table 1.
A high MB concentration may saturate the activated carbon
more quickly, thereby decreasing the breakthrough time.
The maximum adsorption capacity of activated carbon
was 7.00 mg  g1 at inlet MB concentration 100 mg  L1.
The driving force for adsorption is the concentration
difference between the solute on the sorbent and the solute
in the solution. A high concentration difference produces
a high driving force for the adsorption process and
this may explain the many higher adsorption capacities
achieved in the column fed with a higher MB concentration.

4.3 Equilibrium Adsorption of MB

Figures 3a and 3b show the adsorption equilibrium data
fitted Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm expressions,
respectively. It is seen that the equilibrium data were better Fig. 3. a) Langmuir ısotherm; b) Freundlich ısotherm.
represented by the Langmuir isotherm equation than by
the Freundlich equation. The Langmuir constants of Qo
and b were determined from Ceq=qeq versus Ceq plot as adsorption capacity (No) and kinetic constant (kAB) from
6.38 mg  g1 and 0.34 L  mg1, respectively. The Qo defines the Adams-Bohart model and kinetic coefficient of the exter-
the total capacities of activated carbon for MB. The nal mass transfer (ba) from the Wolborska model. The values
Langmuir model makes monolayer coverage and constant were calculated from the ln C=Co versus t plots for all flow
adsorption energy. The applicability of Langmuir isotherm
to activated carbon system implies that monolayer adsorp-
tion condition exists under the experimental conditions used. Table 2. Comparision of monolayer equilibrium capacity of
The adsorption capacity of the activated carbon for MB some adsorbents for MB from aqueous solution
and those of some other low-cost adsorbents collected from
literature are presented in Table 2. It is obvious from Table 2 Qo (mg  g1) Adsorbate Reference
that activated carbon has an adsorption capacity several 5.60 Fiber (Ncibi et al. 2007)
folds higher than the others (Gürses et al. 2004; Kumar 0.21 Active rice husk (Gupta et al. 2007)
et al. 2005; Chakrabarti and Dutta 2005; Gupta et al. 2006; 5.87 Coir pith carbon (Kavitha and
Ncibi et al. 2007; Kavitha et al. 2007) Namasivayam, 2007)
5.57 Fly ash (Kumar et al. 2005)
4.4 Application of the Adams-Bohart and the 2.24 Glass fiber (Chakrabarti and
Wolborska Models Dutta 2005)
The Adams-Bohart (or Wolborska) model was focused on the 6.30 Clay (Gürses et al. 2005)
estimation of characteristic parameters such as maximum 6.38 Activated carbon This study
316 Sarici-Özdemir

Table 3. Adams-Bohart model parameters at different flow rates and inlet concentration

Flow rate Concentration kAB  104 No ba

(mL  min1) (mg  L1) (L  mg1  min1) (mg  L1) (min1) R2 e (%)

5 50 9.58 24.90 0.020 0.976 7.60

5 75 7.16 27.14 0.018 0.940 7.01
5 100 5.10 28.98 0.013 0.963 4.27
10 50 13.08 13.69 0.022 0.960 6.26
15 50 14.34 10.17 0.024 0.910 13.28

kinetics is dominated by external mass transfer in the initial

part of adsorption in the column. The breakthrough curves
predicted from the Adams-Bohart model were compared
with the experimental point and were also shown in Figure 4.
It is clear from Figure 4 and the average percentage
errors (13.28%) in Table 3 that there is a good agreement
between the experimental and predicted values, suggesting
that the Adams-Bohart (or Wolborska) model is valid for
the relative concentration region up to 0.5. Large discrepancies
were found between the experimental and predicted curves
above this level for the MB adsorption in activated carbon
column.

4.5 Application of Thomas Model

Fig. 4. Comparison of the experimental and predicted break-
through curves obtained at different flow rates and different
initial MB concentration according to the Adams-Bohart model.
rates and the inlet MB concentrations studied are presented
Table 3. The values of kinetic constant increased with the
increasing flow rate and decreasing MB concentration, while
the value of No increased. This shows that the adsorption
The Thomas model was fitted to investigate the break-
through behavior of MB onto activated carbon. The Tho-
mas rate constant (kTh) and maximum solid-phase
concentration (qo) were obtained from experimental data.
Applying the Thomas model, the C=C0 ratio was found to
be higher than 0.04 and lower than 0.98 with respect to flow
rate and inlet dye concentrations, this enabled the determi-
nation of the kinetic coefficient in the adsorption system to
be attained. Analysis of the regression coefficients indicated
that the regressed lines provided good fit to the experimental
data with R2 values ranging from 0.975 to 0.97. The values
of kTh and qo are presented in Table 4. As the flow rate
increased, the values of kTh increased and the values of qo
decreased. The reason is that the driving force for adsorption
is the concentration difference between the MB on the acti-
vated carbon and the dye in the solution (Padmesh et al.
2005; Han et al. 2007). The bed capacities qo increased and
the coefficient kTh decreased with increasing MB concen-
tration. Designing adsorption columns with the Thomas
model should utilise low flow rates as well as inlet MB

Table 4. Thomas model parameters at different flow rates and inlet concentration

Flow rate Concentration kTh qo,calculation qo,expriment

(mL  min1) (mg  L1) (mL  mg1  min1) (mg  g1) (mg  g1) R2 e (%)

5 50 2.38 4.90 6.20 0.955 16.48

5 75 2.20 5.70 6.50 0.962 11.75
5 100 1.67 6.25 7.00 0.951 6.71
10 50 3.62 4.85 5.60 0.976 7.64
15 50 3.68 3.65 4.95 0.960 4.26
Removal of Methylene Blue by Activated Carbon 317

Fig. 5. Comparison of the experimental and predicted Fig. 6. Comparison of the experimental and predicted
breakthrough curves obtained at different flow rates and initial breakthrough curves obtained at different flow rates and initial
MB concentration according to the Thomas model. MB concentration according to the Yoon-Nelson model.

concentrations for optimal MB uptake. The experimental
value of qo obtained was close to the calculated result under
the same conditions. It is clear from Figure 5 that although
the model gives a poor fit of the experimental data at higher
flow rates, there is good agreement between the experimental
and predicted normalized concentration values of all MB
inlet concentrations.
The Thomas model is suitable for MB adsorption
processes where the external and internal diffusions will not
have a limiting step.
4.6 Application of Yoon-Nelson Models
A simple theoretical model developed by Yoon-Nelson was
applied to investigate the breakthrough behavior of MB on
activated carbon. The values of kYN and s were determined
at different flow rates varied between 5 and 15 mL  min1
and at different inlet MB concentrations varied between 50
and 100 mg  L1. The values were used to estimate the break-
through curve and can be seen are listed in Table 5. Table 5
shows that the rate constant kYN increased with increasing
flow rate. The values of s decreased with both increasing
flow rate and MB concentration. Table 5 also indicates
that the s values are very similar to the experimental results.
The theorical curves are compared with the corresponding
experimental data in Figure 6. The experimental break-
through curves were very close to those predicted by the
Yoon-Nelson model in the C=Co region from 0.04 up to
0.95. It is clear from Figures 6 and the average percentage
errors (<14.13) in Table 5 that there is a good agreement
between the experimental and predicted values from the
experimental results and data regression. The model pro-
posed by Yoon-Nelson provided a good correlation between
the effects of inlet MB concentration and flow rate.

Table 5. Yoon-Nelson model parameters at different flow rates and inlet concentration

Flow rate Concentration kYN stheorical scalculation

(mL  min1) (mg  L1) (L  min1) (min) (min) R2 e (%)

5 50 0.119 26.67 25.5 0.950 14.13

5 75 0.165 15.16 12.5 0.962 11.74
5 100 0.174 8.46 8.0 0.951 6.28
10 50 0.177 11.73 15.0 0.974 7.73
15 50 0.179 7.02 11.0 0.960 4.27
318
5. Conclusion
In this study, experimental and theorical investigations were
carried out to evaluate the fixed-bed column performance of
MB removal from aqueous solution by activated carbon.
The following conclusion were drawn.
. The adsorption of MB is dependent on both flow rate
and inlet MB concentration with the break point time
and MB removal yield decreasing with increasing flow
rate and MB concentration.
. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were applied for the
adsorption of MB onto activated carbon. The Langmuir
isotherm model describes the adsorption data better than
the Freundlich model. The maximum adsorption capacity
was calculated to be 6.38 mg  g1.
. The Adams-Bohart, Wolborska, Thomas, and Yoon-
Nelson models were applied to the experimental data
obtained from dynamic studies performed on fixed column
to predict the breakthrough curves and to determine the
column kinetic parameters. The model constants belong-
ing to each model were determined by linear regression
techniques and were proposed for use in column design.
. The results also indicate that the adsorption process can
only deal with lower flow rates and lower concentrations
of MB solution if a high percentage of removal is
required for extended periods. By adjusting the operating
characteristics of the packed column, for example the
flow rate, temperature, inlet MB concentration, pH, and
particle size, bed height can be achieved for the system.
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