New method for quantification of dye sorption using SBA mesoporous silica as a target sorbent.

In this work, a new method for the quantification of methyl violet cationic dye sorption onto SBA-15 mesoporous silica was developed. This method related the intensity of coloration of SBA-15 samples (after reached equilibrium sorption) within dye concentration in aqueous solution using Image-Pro Plus software. The sorption process of methyl violet dye onto SBA-15 was analyzed varying different initial parameters (dye concentration, mass of sorbent, pH of dye solution, and contact sorption time). SBA-15 proved as efficient sorbent for removal of methyl violet dye in contact time of 5 min, with maximum percentage of dye removal 99% at pH 8. The results obtained from Image-Pro Plus showed to be in good agreement with the sorption parameters obtained by UV/Vis spectroscopy, which has been the most commonly used instrument for quantification of dye sorption. The image analysis method proved well prediction of dye concentrations with maximum relative error of 1.83%. The advantages of this method are low cost and reliable quantitative evaluation with minimum of time.