Adsorption of Acid Red 57 from aqueous solutions onto surfactant-modified sepiolite.

The adsorption of Acid Red 57 (AR57) onto surfactant-modified sepiolite was investigated in aqueous solution in a batch system with respect to contact time, pH and temperature. The surface modification of surfactant-modified sepiolite was controlled using the FTIR technique. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order kinetic models and the intraparticle diffusion model were used to describe the kinetic data and the rate constants were evaluated. The experimental data fitted very well the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and also followed the intraparticle diffusion model up to 90 min, whereas diffusion is not only the rate controlling step. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were applied to describe the equilibrium isotherms and the isotherm constants were also determined. The Freundlich model agrees with experimental data well. The activation energy, change of free energy, enthalpy and entropy of adsorption were also evaluated for the adsorption of AR57 onto surfactant-modified sepiolite. The results indicate that surfactant-modified sepiolite could be employed as low-cost material for the removal of textile dyes from effluents.