Effect of Azolla filiculoides on removal of reactive red 198 in aqueous solution

The textile dyes are considered as major environmental problems. The dyes can be removed by various methods. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the adsorption rate of Reactive Red 198 (RR198) from aqueous solution by activated Azolla filiculoides. This was an empirical-lab study. The Azolla was used as an adsorbent to remove Reactive Red 198 dye. The effect of various parameters was investigated on adsorbent performance and the adsorption isotherms were determined. The dye concentration was measured by spectrophotometer (DR4000) in λmax = 518 nm. The results indicated that A. filiculoides biosorbent had a large specific surface area (36 m2/g). Using the Langmuir equation, the biosorption capacity (qm) for RR198 was 12.2 mg/g. The results showed that the removal ratio of RR198 reached to 97.3% from wastewater containing 10 mg/l RR198. The biomass could be used as a potential biosorbent for the removal of RR198 from industrial wastewater.