EDTA‐modified cellulose from sago bark (Metroxylon sagu) for anionic and cationic dyes removal

Abstract The present research employed ethylenediaminetetraacetic (EDTA) modified cellulose to remove basic violet 10 (BV10) and reactive orange 16 (RO16) dyes. The cellulose was obtained from sago bark which was solid waste of sago starch industries. Sago bark contains 56.86% cellulose so that it can provide significant amount of active site. The optimum condition was examined using batch method investigating some parameters including pH, initial dye concentration, contact time, and thermodynamics. The adsorption capacity of cellulose (Cell) itself was also investigated for the comparison. The characterization of adsorbent showed the presence of ester bond, amine groups and escalating of surface area and pores after EDTA modification. The adsorption capacity of EDTA‐modified cellulose (Cell‐EDTA) was 73.53 mg/g for BV10 and 22.42 mg/g for RO16. The adsorption of both dyes onto Cell‐EDTA followed Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous, endothermic and feasible. Desorption studies proved that NaOH was an effective desorbing agent of BV10 and RO16. Based on research, Cell‐EDTA was more favorable in cationic dye, basic violet 10 than anionic dye, reactive orange 16.