Shrimp Exoskeleton and Mussel Shell Wastes as Adsorbent Material to Remove Reactive Turquoise Blue 15 (RTB15) and Reactive Red 120 (RR120) Dyes from Textile Wastewaters

Industrial environmental management includes reutilizing waste by transforming solid bio-waste into a valuable resource, e.g. a bioadsorbent. This study aimed to mitigate two environmental local problems: the disposal of fishing biowaste and the removal of dyes from textile wastewater. For this purpose, fishing industry waste (shrimp exoskeleton – SE and mussel shell-MS) was used as adsorbent material to remove dye from textile wastewaters. Adsorption efficiency was evaluated by general, kinetic and thermodynamic physico-chemical parameters in adsorption isotherms, using Reactive Turquoise Blue 15 (RTB15) and Reactive Red 120 (RR120) dyes as adsorbate models, as these dyes are commonly used in the local textile industry. The isothermal data from the batch experiments were fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich and Langmuir-Freundlich (SIPS) equations, with the best fit shown by the Freundlich isotherm equation. The thermodynamic parameters showed that adsorption of the dyes on the bioadsorbents was an endothermic yet spontaneous processes in the case of SE waste. Both bioadsorbents adsorbed both tested dyes, but the SE showed better results. Due to its abundant availability SE and MS biowaste can be employed as a low-cost alternative adsorbent for dye removal.