Release of toxic methylene blue from water by mesoporous silicalite-1: characterization, kinetics and isotherm studies

In the present work, we have developed a mesoporous silicalite-1 using CMC as a template for the removal of MB from aqueous solution. The synthesized silicalite-1 were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherm (BET). XRD and FT-IR analysis confirmed the formation of crystallinity and development of MFI structure in the mesoporous silicalite-1. The adsorption of MB dye on mesoporous silicalite-1 was conducted by batch adsorption method. The effect of various parameters such as adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, contact time and temperature on the dye uptake ability of silicalite-1 was investigated. The operating parameters for the maximum adsorption are silicalite-1 dosage (0.1 wt%), contact time (240 min), initial dye concentration (10 ppm) and temperature (30 ℃). The MB dye removal onto mesoporous silicalite-1 followed pseudo-second-order kinetic and Freundlich isotherm. The silicalite-1 exhibits 86% removal efficiency even after six adsorption–desorption cycle. Therefore, the developed mesoporous silicalite-1 is an effective eco-friendly adsorbent for MB dye removal from aqueous environment.