Abstract

The sorption characteristics of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed husk (SSH) to remove Methylene Blue (MB) from aqueous solution under batch conditions have been investigated. Sorption of MB was found to be pH, concentration and agitation dependent. The kinetics of sorption was rapid with 80% sorption taking place within the first 60 min regardless of its initial concentration. The fast attainment of equilibrium implying the biosorbent could be suitable for continuous flow system. Using the pseudo-second order kinetics model, the predictive model for MB sorbed at time t (q_t) with the  initial concentration of (C_o) is given by q_t = C_ot/[0.0607C_o + 2.0762 + (0.0012C_o + 5.1949)t]. Results indicated that the predicted uptakes of MB agreed closely with experimental values obtained. The experimental data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model with the correlation coefficient of 0.9860 and maximum monolayer sorption capacity of 45.25 mg/g.

Key words:  Sunflower seed husk, sorption, basic dye, methylene blue, kinetics, modelling.