Biosorption of reactive dye using acid-treated rice husk: Factorial design analysis

A factorial experimental design technique was used to investigate the biosorption of reactive red RGB (λmax = 521 nm) from water solution on rice husk treated with nitric acid. Biosorption is favored because of abundance of biomass, low cost, reduced sludge compared to conventional treatment techniques and better decontamination efficiency from highly diluted solutions. Factorial design of experiments is employed to study the effect of four factors pH (2 and 7), temperature (20 and 40), adsorbent dosage (5 and 50 mg/L) and initial concentration of the dye (50 and 250 mg/L) at two levels low and high. The efficiency of color removal was determined after 60 min of treatment. Main effects and interaction effects of the four factors were analyzed using statistical techniques. A regression model was suggested and it was found to fit the experimental data very well. The results were analyzed statistically using the Student's t-test, analysis of variance, F-test and lack of fit to define most important process variables affecting the percentage dye removal. The most significant variable was thus found to be pH.