Bed depth service time model for the biosorption of reactive red dye using the Portunus sanguinolentus shell

Biosorption is an efficient and regenerative technique that often uses low‐cost adsorbent materials, particularly for the treatment of wastewaters containing dyes and heavy metals. This study investigates the ability of crab shell ( Portunus sanguinolentus ) to remove reactive red dye in a packed bed up‐flow column (internal diameter 2 cm; height 35 cm). Crab shell has high surface area (after proper size reduction) and high regenerative capacity. The experiments were performed with different bed heights (20 and 30 cm) and using different flow rates (12 and 17 ml/min) in order to obtain experimental breakthrough curves. The bed depth service time (BDST) model was used to analyze the experimental data and the model parameters were evaluated. The column regeneration studies were carried out for five different sorption–desorption cycles. The elutant used for the regeneration of the sorbent was 0.01 M EDTA (disodium) solution at pH 9.8 adjusted using NH 4 OH. This solution was found to have the best bed regeneration capacity and could be reused for several sorption–desorption cycles. The elution efficiency was greater than 99.1% in all seven cycles. Continuous use of the crab shell leads to a decrease in the adsorptive performance, as observed by the breakthrough curves becoming flatter and also because of a broader mass transfer zone. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.