Methylene blue removal by carbonized textile sludge-based adsorbent

Colored effluent and a large amount of sludge are major pollutant sources derived from textile industry activity. In this research, the idea for converting textile sludge into a potential adsorbent was conducted through a carbonization process in order to solve the colored effluent problem. Textile sludge was carbonized at a temperature ranging from 400 to 800 °C in the absence of oxygen. Maximum adsorption capacity of carbonized sludge for methylene blue removal reached 60.30 mg/g when the sludge was carbonized at 600 °C with specific surface area of 138.9 m 2 /g and no significant alteration was observed until 800 °C. Experimental research by using a real wastewater also showed that there was almost no disruption during adsorption of methylene blue into surface of carbonized sludge. While reactivation process revealed that the regeneration of carbonized sludge was applicable by secondary heating at the same carbonization temperature. Furthermore, the application of this research demonstrated that the carbonized textile sludge was a good adsorbent for methylene blue removal and had a capability to be reactivated.