Demonstrating a Rice-Husk-Based Adsorption Process Using Smartphone Colorimetry to Teach Students about Kinetic Models and Their Applications

Water pollution has been one of the major issues of the present time. It is essential to educate students regarding this issue and its possible solutions. In this article, a demonstration of a typical adsorption-based water cleaning process is presented. The removal of methylene blue (MB) and detergent from a aqueous solution is demonstrated using rice husk as the adsorbent. Quantification of the MB removal was achieved with the help of a smartphone-based colorimetry process. This demonstration would be helpful to students for understanding the adsorption process, calibration curves, and waste management. The kinetic study of adsorption will help students learn various kinetic models and their applications.

Automated summary

This article presents a demonstration of a typical adsorption-based water cleaning process using rice husk as the adsorbent to remove methylene blue and detergent from an aqueous solution. Quantification of the removal was achieved using smartphone-based colorimetry process. This demonstration is helpful for students to understand the adsorption process and kinetic models.