Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from aquatic macrophyte debris and its ability to adsorb anthraquinone dyes

Preparation of activated carbon from Thalia dealbata was carried out. The T. dealbata-derived activated carbon (TDAC) was characterized by BET, SEM and FTIR. The potential of TDAC to remove reactive brilliant blue from aqueous solutions was investigated under varying conditions of pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial dye concentration, and temperature. Adsorption equilibrium, and kinetics were further studied. Adsorption was favored under acid conditions, and the process attained equilibrium in 30 min. The pseudo-second-order model could best describe the adsorption kinetics. The equilibrium data fitted well with the Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the maximum capacity was 555 mg g−1.