Methylene Blue Removal By Phase Separated Porous Glass

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to utilize Porous glass (PG) as an adsorbent in MB removal from wastewater. PG powders were produced by melting and phase separation of an alkali borosilicate glass followed by selective leaching in HCl and an additional alkali treatment. The scanning electron microscope and N2 adsorption/desorption techniques were applied to characterize the pore architecture of the PGs. Methylene blue (MB) adsorption efficiency was investigated from the change in MB concentration in the MB aqueous solutions with various concentrations through the absorbance of the solution at a wavelength of 664 nm monitored on a UV-Vis spectrometer. Results showed that the structure and textural properties of PG was evidently altered via alkali treatment hence affected its adsorption performance. The maximum adsorption capacity for alkali treated PG in the concentration ranges studied was 60.6 mg/g. The isotherm analysis indicated that the equilibrium data were well fitted to the Freundlich isotherm model.