Removal of Textile Dyes Present in Effluents by Adsorption in Polyurethane Foams Derived from Vegetable Oil

Abstract

Large amounts of effluents, some even untreated, used in the dyeing industries are dumped into natural water provoking a huge environmental impact daily. The Analytical Chemistry and Polymer Technology Group from the University of Sao Paulo in Sao Carlos, Brazil developed the polyurethane foam. It is a unique type of foam produced from vegetable oil-a renewable natural raw material. The objective of the research was to verify the effectiveness of adsorption of textile dyes in effluents through the polyurethane foam derived from vegetable oil. The dye samples collected from an industry in the dying segment in the city of Passos, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, were prepared in various predetermined concentrations. The percolation in thermostatic glass column containing polyurethane foam derived from vegetable oil was used as analytical method, with known mass, pressed in the form of powder between two solid foam disks containing two millimeters of thickness.