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From disposal problem to valuable product: the route of sewage sludge as an adsorbent for congo red removal

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Abstract    

The present work is an attempt to address the feasibility of sewage sludge as a cost-effective adsorbent for the Congo Red (CR) elimination from a wastewater sample. The physicochemical properties of treated sewage sludge SS40 were identified by using several techniques, such as Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Furthermore, to describe the adsorption balance, the experimental results were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips isotherms. The equilibrium was perfectly described by the Langmuir model, and the peak adsorption capacity in the monolayer was 25.10 mg. g−1 at 40 °C. The kinetic data of adsorption were analyzed by the Pseudo-First Order (PFO), Pseudo-Second Order (PSO), and Elovich models. The results indicated that both Elovich and PSO models were the most appropriate for describing the adsorption of CR onto (SS40) for all initial CR concentrations, indicating that the chemisorption controlled the dye retention by SS40. The determination of thermodynamic parameters showed that ΔG0 was − 9.42 kJ.mol−1 at 40 °C, ΔH0 was 10.64 kJ.mol−1, and ΔS0 was 30.14 J.mol−1. K−1. The adsorption of CR on SS40 was found to be feasible, spontaneous, and endothermic. The results of this study demonstrate that sewage sludge from the domestic wastewater treatment plant can be used advantageously as an economical, easy-to-handle, and eco-friendly sorbent for the elimination of CR as an emerging pollutant from aqueous solutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Abdelmalek Essaadi, B.P. 2121, Mhannech II, 93002, Tétouan, Marocco

    Youssef Aoulad El Hadj Ali, Kaouthar Benahdach & Mostafa Stitou

  2. Unité de Recherche Eau, Pollution Et Environnement, Département de Chimie, Faculté Des Sciences Et Technique, Université de Nouakchott Al Aasriya, BP 880, Nouakchott, Mauritanie

    Abdoulaye Demba N’diaye

  3. Laboratoire Matériaux Et Systèmes Interfaciaux LMSI, Faculté Des Sciences, Université Abdelmalek Essaadi, B.P. 2121, Mhannech II, 93002, Tétouan, Morocco

    Mohammadi Ahrouch

  4. Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwall, Saudi Arabia

    Abdellatif Ait Lahcen

  5. Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17011, Doornfontein, 2028, South Africa

    Mika Silanpaa

  6. Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Mika Silanpaa

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  1. Youssef Aoulad El Hadj Ali
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Contributions

Aoulad El hadj Ali Youssef: Investigation, writing—original draft, methodology. Abdoulaye Demba N’diaye: writing—review and editing, methodology. Kaouthar Benahdach: writing—review and editing. Mohammadi Ahrouch: writing—review and editing. Abdellatif Ait Lahcen: designed the manuscript, plagiarism test. Mika Silanpaa: resources, review and editing. Mostafa Stitou: methodology, supervision, resources, review and editing.

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Aoulad El Hadj Ali, Y., N’diaye, A.D., Benahdach, K. et al. From disposal problem to valuable product: the route of sewage sludge as an adsorbent for congo red removal. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-03748-2

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