Removal of Congo red from aqueous solutions by neem saw dust carbon

Neem sawdust was used to develop an effective carbon adsorbent. This adsorbent was used for the removal of Congo Red (CR) from aqueous solution. The data suggest that the pH of aqueous solutions influences CR removal due to the decrease of removal efficiency with increasing pH. An optimal pH < 3 for the adsorption of CR onto neem sawdust carbon (NSDC) was determined. The experimental data were analysed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, Toth, Temkin, Sips and Dubinin-Radushkevich models of adsorption. Three simplified kinetic models based on pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion equations were used to describe the adsorption process. It was shown that the adsorption of CR could be described by the pseudo-second-order equation, suggesting that the adsorption occurs as a chemisorption process. The results indicate that the NSDC can be used as a low cost adsorbent alternative to commercial activated carbon for the removal of dyes from wastewaters.