Efficiency of Shrimp Shell to Remove Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solutions

Methylene blue (MB) is one of the common dyestuffs found in colored wastewater. The removal of MB by shrimp shell, low cost adsorbent, was studied in this research. In this experimental study, the effect of different parameters such as; initial concentrations of MB, adsorbent dose, initial pH of solution, and contact time on adsorption efficiency of MB on shrimp shell was studied. SEM and BET analysis on the adsorbent showed that the derived adsorbent from shrimp shell has a suitable physical structure to remove pollutant. The results of pH experiments showed higher removal efficiency (>97%) at natural pH than in those of other pHs. Removal efficiency was increased with increasing dose of adsorbent. Obtained experimental data were fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm (R2>0.99). Reaction enthalpy showed that the adsorption process can be a presumable spontaneous process. Overall, the results showed that the proposed adsorbents have a good ability to remove high concentrations of MB from colored solutions. Due to the low cost of preparation, it can be used as an alternative to relatively expensive adsorbents such as activated carbon to remove these types of dyes.