Abstract:
Adsorption of methylene blue dye (MB) onto sugarcane bagasse pith from Pelwatte Sugar planl was studied to
enable comparison with alternative commonly available adsorbents. Batch experiments were conducted to
determine the effect of adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration and to obtain equilibrium data. Sugarcane
bagasse pith is capable of binding appreciable amounts of methyl blue dye from aqueous solutions. The
equilibrium data were satisfactorily fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Highest dye uptake of 40
mg/g TOS observed. Fixed bed column experiments were performed to study practical applicability and
breakthrough curves were obtained. Breakthrough curve data fits to Yoon-Nelson modeI and bed capacities for
methylene blue adsorption was 22 mg/g.
