Ultrasound facilitates and improves removal of triphenylmethane (crystal violet) dye from aqueous solution by activated charcoal: A kinetic study

This work was aimed at removing crystal violet (CV) from an aqueous solution via an ultrasound-aided sorption process. Different operational parameters, such as contact time, ultrasonic power, and the sorbent dosage, were investigated. The results indicated that the sorption process was more rapid compared with the previously stated process; a sorption equilibrium was obtained after 1.5 h. The increase in the dose from 0.02 to 5.0 g/L increased the adsorption efficiency by 100%. The decolorization of the CV pigment occurred very rapidly at the highest sound power, 200 W, and it reached ～85%. The kinetics study indicated that the sorption process fitted the pseudo-second-order model with the chemisorption mechanism. The sorption isotherm data were also interpreted by the mass-transfer model, which established the intraparticle diffusion. Additionally, to estimate the rate-limiting step mechanisms, the intraparticle diffusion was not considered as the sole rate-controlling step. The maximum sorption capacity (q_max) increased from 19.0 to 24 mg/g during the ultrasound and indicated the positive synergistic effect of the ultrasound. The proposed sonosorption technique is a low cost-effective method for purifying water and wastewater from organic pollutants.