The focus of this work was on developing a green, low-cost, and efficient biosorbent based on the biological structure and properties of MT and applying it to the remediation of cationic dyes in dye wastewater. The adsorption performance and mechanism of MT on methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV) were investigated by batch adsorption experiments. The results demonstrated that the highest adsorption values of MT for MB (411 mg/g) and CV (553 mg/g) were greatly higher than the reported values of other biosorbents. In addition, the adsorption behaviors of methylene blue (MB) and crystal violet (CV) by MT were spontaneous exothermic reactions and closely followed the pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetics and Langmuir isotherm. Further, the depleted MT was regenerated using pyrolysis mode to convert depleted MT into MT-biochar (MBC). The maximum adsorption of Cu2+ and Pb2+ by MBC was up to 320 mg/g and 840 mg/g, respectively. In conclusion, this work presented a new option for the adsorption of cationic dyes in wastewater and a new perspective for the treatment of depleted biosorbents.
Keywords: Medulla tetrapanacis; adsorption; biosorbent; cationic dye.