Dye sequestration using agricultural wastes as adsorbents

•Presents a critical analysis of these materials.•Describes their characteristics, advantages and limitations.•Discusses various mechanisms involved.•Future prospects of using agricultural wastes as adsorbents are addressed.

Color is a visible pollutant and the presence of even minute amounts of coloring substance makes it undesirable due to its appearance. The removal of color from dye-bearing effluents is a major problem due to the difficulty in treating such wastewaters by conventional treatment methods. The most commonly used methods for color removal are biological oxidation and chemical precipitation. However, these processes are effective and economic only in the case where the solute concentrations are relatively high. Most industries use dyes and pigments to color their products. The presence of dyes in effluents is a major concern due to its adverse effect on various forms of life. The discharge of dyes in the environment is a matter of concern for both toxicological and esthetical reasons. It is evident from a literature survey of about 283 recently published papers that low-cost adsorbents have demonstrated outstanding removal capabilities for dye removal and the optimal equilibrium time of various dyes with different charcoal adsorbents from agricultural residues is between 4 and 5 h. Maximum adsorptions of acidic dyes were obtained from the solutions with pH 8–10. The challenges and future prospects are discussed to provide a better framework for a safer and cleaner environment.