CHARACTERIZATION OF MANGROVE BARK ADSORBENT AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE REMOVAL OF TEXTILE DYES FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Mangrove bark, a natural, low-cost agricultural waste in Malaysia has been studied for its potential application as an adsorbent in its modified form. Adsorbent was prepared by pre-treating the mangrove bark with formaldehyde. The adsorbent was characterized before applied as an adsorbent to adsorb textile dyes. In this study, the removal of a reactive (Reactive Black 5) and a basic (Malachite Green) dye from aqueous solutions were investigated. Batch experiments were carried out in this study to investigate the feasibility of using mangrove bark for dye removal from aqueous solutions under different process conditions. It was found that the extent of dye adsorption by treated mangrove bark increased with initial dye concentration, contact time, and pH of the system.