A dependent step-by-step study that included experimental and field study was applied to explore the simplest and most effective system that could be applied for adsorption of Congo Red (CR) dye from the effluent of wastewater that comes out from different industries. Zeolite (Z) surface and pores were subjected to a modification process using green seaweed (GS) algae. Thereafter, each Z, GS, and composite from both were evaluated based on the adsorption efficacy to clean up CR dyes from aqueous solutions. A wet impregnation method was followed to fabricate the zeolite/algae (ZGS) nanocomposite which was characterized using the most appropriate characterization techniques. Batch experiments were selected to be the method of choice in order to follow up the performance of the adsorption process versus different practical variables. Moreover, dye adsorption kinetics and isotherms were investigated as well. At lowered concentrations of CR, the novel nanocomposite ZGS revealed more efficacy than its counterparts, Z and GS, in terms of the adsorption capacity. The maximum adsorption capacities were found to be 8.10, 10.30, and 19.70 mg/g for Z, GS, and ZGS, respectively. Laboratory tests confirmed that the novel nanocomposite ZGS could be introduced as a new and economical nanoadsorbent to capture and remove negatively charged dyes from wastewater effluents that come out from industries at lower concentrations of CR dye and analogous compounds. The dye adsorption on GS, Z, and ZGS coincide with the pseudo-first, Langmuir isotherm, and second-order models. Evaluation for the sorption mechanism was conducted using a diffusion model known as Weber's intraparticle. Depending on the last findings, field experiments on removing dyes from industrial wastewater revealed optimistic findings as the efficiency of our modern and eco-friendly nanoadsorbent reached 91.11%, which helps in the reuse of industrial wastewater.
© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.