Equilibrium isotherm analysis of the sorption of congo red by palm kernel coat

The ability of Palm Kernel Coat (PKC), a waste agricultural product, in the abstraction of Congo Red (CR), an anionic dye, from aqueous solution was studied. The effects of sorbent dose and temperature were studied using batch sorption system. Isotherm experiments were conducted and the data obtained were fitted with different equilibrium isotherm equations namely, Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R), Temkin, Harkins-Jura and Halsey isotherm equations. The Langmuir isotherm equation gave the best description of the sorption process and the maximum saturated monolayer sorption capacity of the PKC for CR was 79.37 mg g(-1). Harkins-Jura isotherm equation gave the poorest description of the sorption process. The linear form of the Langmuir equation was used to analyze the data obtained when the sorbent dosage was optimized by method of continuous variation. The results obtained showed that the equilibrium monolayer sorption capacity, q(m), of the PKC for CR decreased (79.37-17.07 mg g(-1)) with an increase in sorbent dosage. The relationship between the dimensionless parameter, K(R), and initial concentration, C(o), showed that the sorption of CR was favored at higher initial dye concentration and PKC dosages than the lower ones. The thermodynamic parameters, such as change in the free energy, the enthalpy and the entropy, were also evaluated. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the sorption is spontaneous and exothermic.