Coal-based bottom ash (CBBA) waste material as adsorbent for removal of textile dyestuffs from aqueous solution.

A locally available CBBA waste material was used as adsorbent for removal of reactive dyes from synthetic textile wastewater. This study presents the results of our investigation on color removal from synthetic wastewater containing Vertigo Blue 49 (CI Blue 49) and Orange DNA13 (CI Orange 13) by adsorption onto CBBA waste material. The effectiveness of CBBA waste material in adsorbing reactive dyes from aqueous solutions was studied as a function of contact time, initial dye concentration and pH by batch experiments. Leachability of waste material was also evaluated using standard leaching test with deionized water (DIN38414-S4). pH 7 was more favorable for color removal from both Vertigo Blue 49 (CI Blue 49) and Orange DNA (CI Orange 13). Dyestuff adsorption capacities of CBBA for Vertigo Blue 49 and Orange DNA13 were 13.51 and 4.54mg dye/g adsorbent, respectively. The adsorption isotherms for the CBBA can be better described by the Freundlich isotherm. The results showed that the dyestuff uptake process for both dyes followed the second-order kinetics. The bottom ash used in this study is not classified as ecotoxic/hazardous material according to the French proposal for a criterion and evaluation methods of waste ecotoxicity (CEMWE) and the German regulation on Hazardous Waste Classification (HWC).