Biosorption characteristics of reactive dye onto dried activated sludge

This study examined the removal of reactive dye onto dead cells in activated sludge collected from the municipal sewage treatment plant in Suyoung, Pusan. The biosorption of reactive dye from aqueous solutions using the activated sludge was studied using a batch system with respect to the initial pH, temperature, amount of adsorbent and the pre-treatment of the adsorbent. Both the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models could describe the adsorption equilibrium of the reactive dye onto the activated sludge with the Langmuir isotherm showing the best agreement. First- and second-order kinetic models were used to investigate the adsorption mechanism. The adsorption capacity of Rhodamine-B(Rh-B) onto the activated sludge increased with decreasing initial pH and temperature.