Effective adsorption of dyes on an activated carbon prepared from carboxymethyl cellulose: Experiments, characterization and advanced modelling

• An activated carbon with a high surface area and outstanding dye adsorption properties was studied. • Dye adsorption isotherms were quantified at different temperatures. • Statistical physics model was used to attribute theoretical interpretation of dye adsorption mechanism. An activated carbon with a high surface area and outstanding adsorption properties was prepared for dye removal from water. The new adsorbent was obtained from the chemical activation and pyrolysis of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). This activated carbon was employed to analyze and characterize the adsorption mechanism of three dye molecules: methyl violet, allura red and congo red. Different characterization techniques and experimental adsorption isotherms quantified at different temperatures (25–45 °C) were utilized to interpret the dye adsorption mechanism. A double layer adsorption model was employed to estimate the steric and energetic parameters associated with the adsorption of these dye molecules. The modelling results provided the possible adsorption orientations of these dyes on adsorbent surfaces at different operating temperatures and the number of bonded dye molecules per functional group of this adsorbent was also analyzed. Calculated adsorption energies showed that both exothermic and endothermic processes were feasible for these dyes and physical forces were involved in the adsorption mechanism. Overall, this new adsorbent showed a competitive performance for dye removal in aqueous solution and can be a potential option for industrial applications.