Removal of Rhodamine B from Wastewater by Adsorption using Iron Oxide-Polymer Composite Material

Abstract

The discharge of dye-containing wastewater from textile, paper and plastic industries poses serious environmental pollution hazards. This study investigates the potential application of an ion exchange material-iron oxide composite to remove rhodamine B dye from aqueous solutions. The composite was synthesized by incorporating iron oxide nanoparticles into a cationic ion exchange matrix containing amine groups with high affinity for rhodamine B dye. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted under controlled pH, temperature and initial rhodamine B dye concentrations. The results demonstrate that the composite material can effectively remove rhodamine B dye, with adsorption capacities reaching 23570.4 mg/g and removal efficiencies over 90% under the optimal conditions at pH 7 and 30 ºC. The adsorption followed pseudo-second order kinetics indicating chemisorption as the main mechanism. The findings suggested that this composite material can serve as an efficient and low-cost adsorbent for removing cationic dyes like rhodamine B dye from textile and other industrial wastewaters due to its high capacity, rapid adsorption rate and magnetic properties that enable easy separation.