Removal of reactive blue 19 from aqueous solution using eco friendly corncob and banana peel by adsorption method

Water is essential for life and economy. It is used for consumption, personal hygiene and it is required for the development of industry, farming and other sectors. Water pollution has become a major problem day by day because the scarcity of drinking water source, increasing population and the diversity of pollutant substances. One of the water pollutants are dyes which are extensively used in various industries, particularly in textile, paper, rubber, plastic, leather, cosmetics, food, and drug industries. Dye wastewater discharged from various industries creates certain hazards and environmental problems. Many methods are reported to remove dyes from effluents and adsorption has been found to be superior to other techniques in terms of initial cost, flexibility and simplicity of design, ease of operation and insensitivity to toxic pollutants. Activated carbon is the most commonly used adsorbent but that process has highly cost. Therefore, some investigations have been reported using non-conventional low-cost adsorbents including natural and waste materials from agriculture for dye removal. In the present study, it was aimed to investigate the potential use of corncorb and banana peel for Reactive Blue 19 removal from aqueous solutions. The effect of several parameters such as pH, adsorbent dose and dye concentration was studied by using Box Behnken Design and adsorption mechanisms were evaluated. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the corncob and banana peel as biosorbents could be employed as effective and eco-friendly alternatives for the cleanup of dye-polluted aqueous media.