Fixed bed adsorption of Methylene Blue by ultrasonic surface modified chitin supported on sand

•Fixed bed adsorption of MB dye by modified chitin supported on sand was studied.•Optimal conditions were flow rate of 10 mL min−1 and MB concentration of 50 mg L−1.•The breakthrough time was 370 min and the column capacity was 51.8 mg g−1.•The regeneration was possible for five times.•Fixed bed adsorption of MB on USM-chitin/sand is suitable for a future scale-up.

In this research, fixed bed adsorption of Methylene Blue (MB) by ultrasonic surface modified chitin supported on sand (USM-chitin/sand) was investigated, aiming future scale-up purposes. USM-chitin was prepared, characterized and supported on sand for the fixed bed assays. Breakthrough curves were obtained at different flow rates and initial MB concentrations. These parameters were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). Some dynamic models were fitted to the experimental data and the bed regeneration was studied. The optimal conditions for the fixed bed adsorption of MB on USM-chitin/sand were flow rate of 10 mL min−1 and initial MB concentration of 50.0 mg L−1. Under these conditions, the breakthrough time was 370 min, the maximum capacity of the column was 51.8 mg g−1 and the removal percentage was 51.5%. The dynamic models were suitable to represent the experimental data. The regeneration was possible for five times, maintaining the same bed performance. These results indicated that the fixed bed adsorption of MB on USM-chitin/sand is technically viable and suitable for a future scale-up.

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