A porous iron-based adsorbent obtained from litchi peel via pyrolysis process was prepared in this work, in order to evaluate its adsorptive potential for the removal of a pharmaceutical dye (amaranth) from aqueous solution. The material was characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, and scanning electron microscopy. Several isotherm and kinetic models were tested aiming to represent the amaranth dye adsorption. The prepared sample presented magnetic property, and a mesoporous texture constituted of graphite and three iron-based phases. The adsorption kinetics of amaranth on the adsorbent followed the pseudo-second-order model, whereas the equilibrium data were in good agreement with the BET isotherm, being represented by a sigmoid-shaped adsorption isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity for the amaranth dye was found to be 44.87 mg g-1, demonstrating that the material prepared in this work showed to be a promising adsorbent for the removal of amaranth from aqueous solution.
Keywords: Adsorption; Amaranth dye; Equilibrium; Iron-based adsorbent; Kinetics.