Indian Journal of Chemical Technology

Vol. 18, January 2011, pp. 67-75

A comparative evaluation for adsorption of dye on Neem bark and Mango

bark powder
Ruchi Srivastavaa* & D C Rupainwarb
a

Institute of Engineering and Technology, Utter Pradesh Technological University, Lucknow, India
b
Bansal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lucknow, India
Received 21 April 2010; accepted 15 November 2010

The use of low cost adsorbent has been investigated as a replacement for the current expensive methods of removing
dyes from wastewater. As such, Neem bark and Mango bark generated as a wood waste is collected and converted into a
powder form and then used as a low-cost adsorbent for removal of dyes from wastewater. Adsorption studies are carried out
at different temperatures, pH, initial dye concentrations and adsorbent doses. The adsorption of malachite green (dye) is
found to increase with increase in temperature. The linear form of Langmuir and Freundlich models fitted the adsorption
data. The results indicated that Langmuir adsorption isotherm fitted the data better than Freundlich isotherm.
Thermodynamic parameters such as the free energies, enthalpy and entropy of adsorption of the dye-Mango bark, Neem
bark powder systems are also evaluated. The negative values of free energy indicated the feasibility and spontaneous nature
of the process, and the positive heats of enthalpy suggest the endothermic nature of the process. The adsorption of Malachite
green follow the second-order kinetics in both the adsorbents.
Keywords: Adsorption, Adsorption isotherm, Bark powders, dyes , Batch mode

Dyes are widely used in various industries, such as

textiles, paper, plastics, cosmetics and leather, for
coloring their final product. The release of colored
wastewater from these industries may present an ecotoxic hazard and introduce the potential danger of
bioaccumulation, which may eventually affect man
through the food chain. Many techniques have been
used to remove harmful dyes from colored
wastewater. Activated carbon is the most popular
adsorbent, which is capable of adsorbing many dyes
with a high adsorption capacity1, but it is expensive
and the costs of regeneration are high because
desorption of the dye molecules is not easily
achieved2,3. Currently sorption process is proved to be
one of the effective and attractive processes for the
treatment of these dye-bearing wastewaters4-6. Also
this method will become inexpensive, if the sorbent
material used is of inexpensive material and does not
require any expensive additional pretreatment steps.
Previously several researchers had proved several low
cost materials such as pear millet husk carbon7,
Aspergillus niger8, rice husk, hair, cotton waste, bark9,
perlite10, carbonized press mud, bagasse bottomash11,
raw kaolin, pure kaolin, calcined raw kaoline,
____________
*Corresponding author (E-mail: abhiruchi124@yahoo.com)

calcined pure kaoline12, coir pith13, guava seeds

activated carbon14, iron humate15, neem sawdust16,
clay17 and mango seed kernel18.
Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) and Mango tree
(Mangifera indica) are native to the Indian subcontinent. In the present study mango bark powder
and neem bark powder, a waste materials obtained
from wood industry have been used as an adsorbents
for the removal of malachite green. Malachite green
was found to be toxic to human cells and might cause
liver tumor formation. The use of this dye has been
banned in several countries and not approved by US
Food and Drug Administration. However, due to its
ease and low cost to manufacture, it is still used in
certain countries with less restrictive laws for nonaquaculture purposes. Hence, the dye removal is of
great importance19. For any sorbent to be feasible, it
must combine high and fast adsorption capacity with
inexpensive regeneration20. The present study is
aimed towards the development of an industrially
viable, cost effective and environmentally compatible
adsorbent for the removal of malachite green from
wastewater. To evaluate the efficiency of developed
adsorbents, adsorption batch and kinetic studies were
performed.

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INDIAN J. CHEM. TECHNOL., JANUARY 2011

Materials and Methods

Dye solution preparation

The dye, Malachite green, CI = 42,000, chemical

formula =C50H52N4O8, MW= 927.03, max = 617 nm.

ments were made on a GBC UV-visible

spectrophotometer
model
Cintra-40.
The
spectrophotometer response time was 0.1 s and the
instrument had a resolution of 0.1 nm. Absorbance
values were recorded at the wavelength for maximum
absorbance (max), i.e., 617 nm for malachite green . The
agitation of the system under investigation was carried
out on a thermostat-cum shaking assembly (model
MSW 275). The zero point of charge (pHzpc) of Neem
bark powder and Mango bark powder was estimated by
using
the
alkalimetric
titration
method21.
Characterization of Neem bark powder and Mango
bark powder is summarized in Table 1.
Table 1Characteristics of Neem bark powder and Mango bark
powder

The stock solution was prepared by dissolving the

required amount of dye in double distilled water.
Working solutions of the desired concentrations were
obtained by successive dilution. Dye concentration was
analyzed using absorbance values with a UVvis
spectrophotometer (Model GBC Cintra 40).
Sorbent

Neem bark and Mango bark used in the present work

were collected from local wood shops. The collected
barks were washed with permuted water several times to
remove dirt particles and water soluble materials. The
washing process was continued till the wash water
contained no colour. The washed materials were then
completely dried in an air oven at 105-110C for 24 h till
the barks could be grinded into fine powder by the local
mixer grinder. The products so obtained were sieved to
the desired particle sizes such as 150-212 m. Finally,
the product was stored in a vacuum desiccator until
required. The developed powders are designated as
MBP (Mango bark powder) and NBP (Neem bark
powder). The powder having 150-212 mesh size was
used in both the sorption and kinetic studies unless
otherwise stated. The surface structure of Neem bark
and Mango bark was analyzed by scanning electronic
microscopy (SEM) at two different magnifications.
SEM micrographs were obtained using model (SC 7640
UK). The textural structure examination of Neem bark
and Mango bark particles can be observed from the
SEM photographs at 2500 magnifications (Fig. 1a,b).
These photographs reveal that Neem bark and Mango
bark exhibit a caves-like, uneven and rough surface
morphology.

Parameters
Ash content (%)
Bulk density(mg/m3)
pHZPC
Surface area (m2.g-1)
Volatile matter (%)
C (%)
H (%)
N (%)

Values
NBP
12.70
0.563
6.80
328.1
87.28
43.23
4.39
0.93

MBP
14.65
0.521
6.03
544.5
84.33
36.25
4.17
0.17

Instrument

The pH of the solution was measured by using a pH

meter (Model 744, Metrohm). Absorbance measure-

Fig. 1Scanning electron micrograph of (a) Neem bark powder

and (b) Mango bark powder at 2500

SRIVASTAVA & RUPAINWAR: EVALUATION OF ADSORPTION OF DYE ON NEEM AND MANGO BARK PAWDER

69

Sorption procedure

Effect of pH

Sorption studies were performed by the batch

technique to obtain rate and equilibrium data. The
batch technique was selected because of its simplicity.
Batch sorption studies were performed at different
temperatures, dye initial concentrations and adsorbent
doses to obtain equilibrium isotherms. For isotherm
studies, a series of 100 mL conical flasks were
employed. Each conical flask was filled with 50 mL of
dye solution of varying concentrations (110-6 - 110-4
M) separately and adjusted to the desired pH and
temperature. The suspensions were stirred at 400 rpm
at 25C for 7 h until equilibrium was reached. Aqueous
samples were taken from the solutions and the
concentrations were determined. The contact time and
other conditions were selected on the basis of
preliminary experiments, which demonstrated that the
equilibrium was established in 120 min for Neem bark
powder and 150 min for Mango bark powder. The
effect of pH was observed by studying the adsorption
of malachite green over a broad pH range of 2-9. The
sorption studies were also carried out at different
temperatures, i.e., 283, 298 and 313 K to delineate the
effect of temperature and to evaluate the sorption
thermodynamic parameters. Adsorption of malachite
green was also studied at different initial
concentrations of the dye solution and doses of
adsorbents.

The effect of pH on the amount of color removal

was analyzed over the pH range from 2-9. The pH
was adjusted using 0.1 N NaOH and 0.1 N HCl
solutions. In this study, 50 mL of dye solution was
agitated with 0.5 g of Neem bark powder and Mango
bark powder separately for 24 h, which is more than
sufficient to reach equilibrium. The samples were
then centrifuged and the left out concentration in the
supernatant solution were analyzed using UVSpectrophotometer by monitoring the absorbance
changes at a wavelength of maximum absorbance.

Effect of initial dye concentration

A mass of 0.5 g of each adsorbent (NBP and MBP)

was contacted with 50 mL MG solutions of dye
concentrations 10-4-10-6 mol.L-1 at (pH 5 and 2) for
NBP and MBP respectively, using water-bath
maintained at 25C. The agitation speed was kept
constant at 400 rpm. At predetermined intervals of
time, samples were analyzed for the final
concentration of MG by a UV/Vis spectrophotometer.

Results and Discussion

Effect of contact time and initial concentration

The sorption efficiency of MG increased gradually

with increasing contact times and reached a plateau
afterwards. At this point, the amount of dye being
sorbed onto the sorbent was in a state of dynamic
equilibrium with the amount of dye desorbed from the
sorbent. The contact time needed for MG solutions to
reach equilibrium at initial concentration of 110-5
mol.L-1 was 120 min for NBP and 150 min for MBP.
The rapid sorption observed during the first 20 min is
probably due to the abundant availability of active
sites on the Neem bark powder and Mango bark
powder particle surface, and with the gradual
occupancy of these sites, the sorption becomes less
efficient. It is also noticed that an increase in the
initial MG concentration leads to a decrease in the
percentage of MG removal (Fig. 2). As the initial MG
concentration increases from 10-6 to 10-4 mol.L-1, the
equilibrium removal of MG decreases from 88.45% -

Effect of sorbent dose

Samples of NBP and MBP (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g)

were added to 50 mL dye solution. The initial dye
concentration was 10-5 mol L-1 (pH 5 and pH 2 for
NBP and MBP ) at constant temperature (25C) and
stirring at the speed of 400 rpm.
Effect of temperature

The effect of temperature (at 283, 298, 313 K) on

the sorption of MG by Neem bark powder and Mango
bark powder was studied at 0.5 g sorbent and initial
MG concentration of 10-5 mol L-1 (pH 5 and 2
respectively) for 7 h contact time.

Fig. 2Effect of initial concentrations for removal of malachite

green over Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder

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INDIAN J. CHEM. TECHNOL., JANUARY 2011

38.67% for Neem bark powder and from 99.45% 44.98% for Mango bark powder. This effect can be
explained as follows: at low dye/sorbent ratios, there
are number of sorption sites in Neem bark powder and
Mango bark powder structure. As the dye/sorbent
ratio increases, sorption sites are saturated, resulting
in decreases in the sorption efficiency19. Thus, it can
be said that the sorption is increased instantly at initial
stages (due to rapid attachment of dye to the surface
of the sorbent), and then keeps increasing gradually
until the equilibrium is reached and remains constant.
Effect of sorbent dosage

An increase in the bark doses from 0.5 to 2 g/50

mL increases the percentage of dye removal from
aqueous solution from 35.5% to 85.4% for neem bark
powder and 40.54% to 91.5% for mango bark powder.
This may be attributed to increased sorbent surface
area and availability of more sorption sites resulting
from the increased dose of the sorbent. The increase
in sorbent dose at constant dye concentration and
volume will lead to unsaturation of sorption sites
through the sorption process. At higher neem bark
powder and mango bark powder to dye concentration
ratios, there is a superficial sorption onto the sorbent
surface that produces a lower dye concentration in the
solution than when the sorbent to dye concentration
ratio is lower. This is because a fixed mass of both the
adsorbents can only sorb a certain amount of dye.
Therefore, the higher the sorbent dosage is, the larger
the volume of effluent that a fixed mass of neem bark
powder and mango bark powder can purify22.
Effect of temperature

The sorption studies were carried out at three

different temperatures 10, 25 and 40C. The removal
percentage of MG, increase with the increasing
temperature for both adsorbents (NBP and MBP),
indicating that the sorption is an endothermic process.
This may be a result of increase in the mobility of the
dye with increasing temperature. Furthermore, the
enhancement in the sorption capacity might be due to
the enhancement of sorptive interaction between the
active sites of sorbent and sorbate ions, creation of
some new sorption sites or the increased rate of
intraparticle diffusion of MG molecules into the pores
of the sorbent at higher temperatures23,24. It can also
be said that increasing temperature may also produce
a swelling effect within the internal structure of the
carbons enabling more dye molecules diffusion into
the sorbents25.

Effect of pH

The results of the experiments done at different pH

values, which were conducted to determine the
optimum pH range for dye adsorption on Neem bark
powder and Mango bark powder are shown in
(Fig. 3). The percentage removal of MG by Neem
bark powder was optimum at pH 5.0 whereas the
optimum pH for removal of MG by Mango bark
powder was at pH 2.0. Several reasons may be
attributed to dye sorption behaviour of the biosorbent
relative to solution pH. The surface of both bark
powder may contain a large number of active sites
and the solute (dye ions) uptake can be related to the
active sites and also to the chemistry of the solute in
the solution. The adsorption of Malachite green
increases with decrease in the pH of the solution. This
can be explained by considering the zero point charge
of both the adsorbents . The pH at the pHZPC of the
adsorbents are reported to be 6.80 and 6.03 for NBP
and MBP, respectively. Thus, it seems that for pH
values below the zeta potential of adsorbents, positive
charge density on the surface increases, the charge
developed in the acid medium favors association of
anionic dye. Thus, the positive charge density would
be found more on the dye molecule at pH less than the
zeta potential on adsorbent surface and this accounts
for the higher uptake of Malachite green dye onto
negatively charged surface of the adsorbents25.
Isotherm analysis

The analysis and design of sorption process requires

the relevant adsorption equilibria, which is the most
important piece of information in understanding an
adsorption process. Sorption equilibria provide
fundamental physiochemical data for evaluating the
applicability of sorption process as a unit operation. To

Fig. 3Plot of pH versus % removal of malachite green over

Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder

SRIVASTAVA & RUPAINWAR: EVALUATION OF ADSORPTION OF DYE ON NEEM AND MANGO BARK PAWDER

facilitate estimation of the adsorption capacities the

two well-known equilibrium adsorption models,
Freundlich26 and Langmuir27 models were employed.
Langmuir isotherm

The Langmuir equation assumes that maximum

adsorption occurs when the surface is covered by the
adsorbate. The distribution of dyes between the solidsolution interface equilibrium has been described by
the linear form of Langmuir equation given as:
(Ce/qe) =(1/bQ0) +(Ce/Q0)

(1)

lnqe = lnKF + l/n lnCe

71

(2)

The equilibrium data were further analyzed using

the linearized form of Freundlich equation using the
same set of experimental data. The calculated
Freundlich isotherm constants and the corresponding
coefficient of determination values were shown in
Table 2. From Table 2, it was observed that both the
Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms could well
represent the experimental sorption data of MG by
Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder, but the
Langmuir expression was better in both the cases. The

where Ce is the concentration of the dye solution

(mol L-1) at equilibrium, qe is the amount of dye
adsorbed per unit weight of adsorbent (mol g-1) and b
is related to the energy of adsorption (l mol-1). Values
of Q0 and b were calculated from the slope and
intercept of the linear plot, Ce/qe versus Ce (Fig. 4a,b)
The isotherm was found to be linear over the entire
concentration range studied with a good linear
regression coefficient (R2 = 0.991 and 0.993) for
Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder, showing
that data correctly fit the Langmuir model in both the
cases. The Langmuir parameters are given in Table 2.
The monolayer saturation capacity (at 25C) of NBP
and MBP for adsorption of malachite green was 0.36
and 0.53 mmol g-1. The fact that Langmuir isotherm
fits the experimental data very well confirms the
monolayer coverage of dye onto sorbent particles and
also the homogenous distribution of active sites on the
material, since the Langmuir equation assumes that
the surface is homogenous.

(a)

(b)

Freundlich isotherm

The Freundlich expression is an exponential

equation and therefore, assumes that as the sorbate
concentration increases, the concentration of sorbate
on the sorbent surface also increases. The linear form
of the Freundlich isotherm is:

Fig. 4Langmuir isotherm constants for the adsorption of

malachite green over (a) Neem bark powder and (b) Mango bark
powder

Table 2Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms constants for the adsorption of malachite green on Neem bark powder and Mango bark
powder
Langmuir
constants
Adsorbent
NBP
MBP
Freundlich
constants
Adsorbent
NBP
MBP

10C

25C

40C

Q0 (x104 mol.g-1) b(x10-3 l.mol-1) R2 Q0 (x 104 mol.g-1) b(x 10-3 l mol-1) R2 Q0 (x 104 mol g-1.) b(x 10-3 l.mol-1) R2
3.22
28.13
0.98
3.66
2 4.63
0.98
4.88
21.46
0.99
4.13
2.73
0.99
5.32
3.76
0.99
5.17
6.28
0.99
Kf (x103 mol.g-1)
1/n
R2
10C
0.94
14.74

25C
0.98
47.05

40C
1.47
1 9.77

10C
0.15
0.55

25C
0.15
0.63

40C
0.16
0.51

10C
0.74
0.94

25C
0.89
0.89

40C
0.94
0.96

INDIAN J. CHEM. TECHNOL., JANUARY 2011

72

magnitude of the exponent n gives an indication on the

favorability of sorption. It is generally stated that
values of n in the range 2-10 represent good, 1-2
moderately difficult, and less than 1 poor adsorption
characteristics28.
The thermodynamic parameters, (H0) and (S0 )
for the adsorption process are also determined using the
Erying,s plot, ln Kc versus 1/T (figure not shown) as per
Eq.(3):
ln Kc = S0 /R - H0/RT

(3)

where (Kc = Cad/Ce ) is the ratio of the amount of dye

adsorbed on the adsorbent, Cad to that in the
adsorbate, Ce from the values evaluated H0 and S0
at different temperatures (10,25,40C). G0 are also
calculated using Eq. (4):
G0= H0- T S0

(4)

The values obtained from thermodynamic analysis

are given in Table 3.
The negative values of G0 indicate the feasibility
and spontaneous nature of adsorption. The similar
results were reported earlier20,29. Positive values of
H0 for the process further confirms the endothermic
nature of the process whereas the positive value of
entropy change (S0) reflect good affinity of the dye
towards both the adsorbents30. When the adsorbate
gets adsorbed on the surface of the adsorbents, water
molecules previously bonded to the dye cation gets
released and dispersed in the solution, this results in
an increase in the entropy31 .
Adsorption kinetics study

Successful application of the adsorption demands

innovation of cheap, non-toxic, easily available
adsorbents of known kinetic parameters and

adsorption characteristics. Adsorption kinetics can be

modeled by applying pseudo first-order Lagergren
equation32 and pseudo second-order model33.
The pseudo-first-order rate equation is presented as:
log(qe qt ) = log qe (k1/2.303) t

(5)

where qe and qt are the amounts of dye adsorbed at

equilibrium and at time t respectively, and k1 is the
rate constant of pseudo first-order sorption (l min1).
The parameters of the pseudo-first-order model are
summarized in Table 4a. The values of determination
coefficient for the plots were in the range 0.770-0.978
(figure not shown). This finding suggested that the
sorption process does not follow the pseudo-firstorder rate equation.
An expression of the pseudosecondorder rate is
given as:
t/qt= (1/k2qt2+1/qe) t

(6)

where K2 is the pseudo-second-order rate constant (g

mol-1 min-1), qe is the amount of dye sorbed at
equilibrium (mol.g-1), and q is the amount of dye
cation on the surface of the sorbent at any time t
(mol g-1). The plots of t/q versus t give a straight line
for all the initial dye concentrations for both the
adsorbents studied as showed in (Fig. 5), confirming
the applicability of the pseudo-second-order equation.
The parameters of the pseudo-second-order sorption
kinetic model are summarized in Table 4b. The
Table 3Thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption
Adsorbent
MBP
NBP

10C
18.62
19.66

-G
25C
20.40
21.45

40C
21.45
24.36

20.21
25.25

0.18
0.13

-G =(kJ/mol) , H =(kJ/mol) , S =(kJ/mol/k-1)

Table 4aFirst-order rate constants and second-order rate constants for the adsorption of malachite green onto Neem bark powder and
Mango bark powder at different temperatures
Adsorbent
NBP
MBP

10C
K1
0.94
0.95

R
0.87
0.97

25C
K2
9.63
16.91

R
0.97
0.99

K1
1.36
1.27

R
0.86
0.79

K2
9.88
11.67

40C
2

R
0.99
0.97

K1
1.86
1.29

R
0.95
0.90

K2
13.19
29.06

R2
0.99
0.99

K1 = (x103 min-1), K2= (g mol-1 min-1)

Table 4bComparison of kinetic parameters for the adsorption of malachite green onto Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder
Adsorb
NBP
MBP

qe,exp (x104 mol.g-1)

10C
25C
40C
2.91
3.08
3.34
2.25
3.27
3.47

10C
2.31
1.59

qe ,cal-1(x104 mol.g-1)
25C
40C
2.25
2.61
2.39
1.54

qe ,cal-2(x104 mol.g-1)
10C
25C
40C
2.99
3.30
3.59
2.30
3.38
3.52

SRIVASTAVA & RUPAINWAR: EVALUATION OF ADSORPTION OF DYE ON NEEM AND MANGO BARK PAWDER

73

determination coefficient values of the pseudo-secondorder model exceeded 0.99 in both the cases (i.e.
removal of MG by NBP and MBP) and the calculated
sorption capacity values determined from pseudosecond-order model were more consistent with the
experimental values of sorption capacity. Therefore,
the pseudo-second order model better represented the
sorption kinetics for the removal of malachite green on
neem bark powder and mango bark powder
respectively.
Intraparticle diffusion

It is important to estimate which is the rate-limiting

step (pore or film diffusion) involved in the sorption
process. The three consecutive steps in the sorption of a
sorbate by a sorbent are: (i) transport of sorbate
molecules from the bulk solution to the external surface
of the sorbent by diffusion across the liquid boundary
layer (film diffusion), (ii) diffusion of the sorbate
within the pores of the sorbent (intraparticle diffusion)
and (iii) sorption of the sorbate on the active sites.
It is generally accepted that the last step is usually
very rapid in comparison to the first two steps.
Therefore, the overall rate of sorption is controlled by
either film or intra-particle diffusion. Since neither the
pseudo-first-order nor the pseudo-second-order model
can identify the diffusion mechanism, the kinetic
results were analyzed by the intra-particle diffusion
model. The rate parameter of intra-particle diffusion
can be defined as34:
q = kid.t1/2+C

Fig. 5Pseudo-second order reaction(t/qt) for removal of

malachite green on Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder at
different initial dye concentrations, sorbent dose= 0.5 g/50 mL,
T= 25C, pH 2 for MBP and 5 for NB

(7)

where q (mol.g-1) is the amount of MG sorbed at

time t, C (mol. g -1) the intercept, and kid (mol g-1min-1/2)
is the intra-particle diffusion rate constant. The kinetic
results can be used to determine if particle diffusion is
the rate-limiting step for dye sorption onto material.
(Fig. 6 a,b) shows the amount of dye sorbed versus t1/2
for intra-particle transport of MG by neem bark
powder and mango bark powder at different initial
dye concentrations. It was found that the rate constant
increased with increasing dye concentration. The
determination coefficient values for this diffusion
model are between 0.910 and 0.994. Any increase in
the value of C indicates the abundance of solute in the
boundary layer.
Bangham,s equation
Kinetic data can further be used to check by using
Banghams equation35:

Fig. 6Intra-particle diffusion for removal of malachite green

over (a) Neem bark powder at pH 5 and (b) Mango bark powder
at pH 2, temperature= 25C, dose= 0.5 g/50 mL

ln. ln (C0 /C0- qtm) = log (Ko m/ V) + a ln (t)

(8)

where C0 is the initial concentration of adsorbate in

solution (mg.L-1), V is the volume of the solution
(mL), m is the mass of adsorbent per liter of solution
(g.L-1) qt is the amount of adsorbate retained at time t,
a and K0 are constants, values are summarizes in
Table 5. The logarithmic plot (Fig. 7) according to

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INDIAN J. CHEM. TECHNOL., JANUARY 2011

required amount of MBP and NBP to reduce the

colour content by 90% at various volumes of effluents
can be calculated. For example, 10 L of the solution is
to be treated. The required masses of NBP and MBP
are 1.971 and 1.225 mmol for MG, respectively, for
90% dye removal.
Conclusions
The results of this study suggests the possibility of
recycling an agricultural waste byproducts as
adsorbent for the treatment of dyeing industry
wastewater.
Fig. 7Bangham,s plot for removal of malachite green onto
Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder at different
concentrations, pH 2 for MBP and 5 for NBP, temperature= 25C,
dose= 0.5 g/50 mL

above equation yielded perfect linear curves for

adsorption of malachite green by neem bark powder
and mango bark powder, showing that the diffusion of
adsorbate into pores of the adsorbent basically
controls the adsorption process, although it is not the
only rate controlling step.
Designing batch adsorption from isotherm data

Adsorption isotherm can be used to predict the

design of single-stage batch adsorption systems36.
Consider an effluent containing V liter of solvent
(water) and the dye concentration reduced from Co to
C1 g dye per liter solvent. The amount of adsorbent is
M g and the solute loading changes from qo to q1 mmol
dye per gram adsorbent. When fresh adsorbent is used ,
q0= 0 and the mass balance equates the dye removed
from the liquid to that picked up by the solid:
V (Co -C1 ) = M (qo- q1 ) = M q1

(9)

If the system is allowed to come to equilibrium,

then:
C1 Ce and q1 qe
In case of adsorption of Malachite green onto Neem
bark powder and Mango bark powder, Langmuir
isotherm gives the best fit to experimental data.
Consequently, the Langmuir equation can be best
substituted for q1 in the rearrangement form of Eq. (11),
giving adsorbent/solution for a giving change in dye
concentration, CoCe at this particular system:
M/V = Co Ce / q1 = Co Ce/ qe Co Ce / KLCe / 1+aLCe
(10)
where KL and aL are Langmuir constants and an initial
dye concentration of 100 m mol/L is assumed and the

(i)

Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder

are a promising adsorbent for removal of dye
Malachite green.
(ii) The experimental data produced perfect fit
with the Langmuir isotherm for both the
adsorbents, this suggest the monolayer
coverage of Malachite green with adsorption
capacity (at 25C) was 0.36 and 0.53 mmol g
-1
for NBP and MBP respectively.
(iii) The kinetics of the adsorption of dye
(Malachite green) onto NBP and MBP reports
to be pseudo second order chemical reaction
kinetics.
(iv) This pseudo second-order kinetics is further
supported by Bangham,s equation.
(v) The rate of adsorption of Malachite green,
onto NBP and MBP increased with increasing
temperature. Thus suggesting the reaction to
be spontaneous and endothermic in nature.
Both Neem bark powder and Mango bark powder
act as a good adsorbent for removal of Malachite
green from industrial and other effluents. However,
the Q0 values at different temperatures and the surface
area values showed that Mango bark powder act as a
better adsorbent for the removal of dye.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the Director, Institute of
Engineering and Technology, Lucknow, for providing
the necessary facilities and his keen interest in this
work.
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