Recent advances in removal of Congo Red dye by adsorption using an industrial waste

The Congo Red dye was removed from a simulated textile wastewater solution using fly ash from a local power plant. The characterisation of fly ash was studied in detail by SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, BET surface area and TGA techniques. The influence of four parameters (contact time, initial concentration, adsorbent dose, and temperature) was analysed, the results showing that the adsorption capacity depends on these parameters. Thermodynamic and regeneration investigations as well are presented. The fit to pseudo-second-order kinetics models suggests that the removal process is a chemical adsorption. The Langmuir model fitted the experimental data, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 22.12 mg/g. The research is a preliminary case study that highlights that fly ash posed a very good potential as a material for Congo Red dye removal.