The adsorption of cationic dye from aqueous solution onto acid-activated andesite

The adsorption of cationic dye (i.e., methylene blue) onto acid-activated andesite in aqueous solution was studied in a batch system with respect to its kinetics as a function of agitation speed, initial adsorbate concentration, pH, and adsorbent mass. It was found that the resulting acid-activated adsorbent possessed a mesoporous structure with BET surface areas at around 60 m2/g. The surface characterization of acid-activated andesite was also performed using the zeta-potential measurements, indicating that the charge sign on the surface of the andesite should be negative in a wide pH range (i.e., 3-11). Furthermore, a simplified kinetic model, pseudo-second-order, was tested to investigate the adsorption behaviors of methylene blue onto the clay samples treated under different process conditions. It was found that the adsorption process could be well described with the model. The adsorption capacity parameter of the model obtained in the present work was significantly in line with the process parameters.