Synthesis and Application of Graphene Oxide (GO) for Removal of Cationic Dyes from Tannery Effluents

The increasing demands for dye in tanning industries have resulted in unconstrained throwing away of dyes into water bodies causing enormous environmental pollution. The removal of these dyes from effluents is mandatory and needs the recommendation of the latest technology and less expensive processes in this regard. Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared, characterized, and applied in the process of removal of cationic dye. GO was characterized by FTIR, X-RD, SEM, and TGA and the following functional groups were found: –COOH, OH, -C=O, and C-O-C. Basic Blue 3 (BB 3) was used as a model synthetic cationic dye. The dye adsorption studies were carried out in terms of the adsorbent dose, the pH, initial dye concentrations, and contact time. The removal efficiency for BB 3 was found to be 100% dye concentration up to 600 ppm at pH 7 with 10 mg (0.1g/L) of the adsorbent, GO, within 6 minutes. In the case of real tannery effluents, the eradication efficiency was found to be 91.2%. The results revealed that GO was a suitable adsorbent for the removal of cationic dyes from tannery effluents.