Correlation between cocoa shell modifications by CTAB and its dye adsorption properties

Cocoa shell was modified whit sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to increase surface functionality, surface area, and positive charge density. The prepared adsorbent CC-OH-CTAB was used to remove indigo carmine (IC) and bromocresol green (BCG) dyes from water. The optimal pH for IC and BCG adsorption were 2 and 4, respectively. The equilibrium was attained after a contact time of 30 min for IC and 120 min for BCG. The maximum adsorption capacity (Qmax) of IC and BCG obtained was 85.1 mg g-1 and 192.7 mg g-1, respectively. The Liu isotherm model best described the equilibrium results. The adsorption kinetics model showed that IC and BCG adsorption onto CC-OH-CTAB followed the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order model, respectively. The regeneration and reusability experiments indicated that CC-OH-CTAB had much stability and excellent performance meanwhile repeatedly used. Finally, the insertion of CTAB on the CC-OH surface proved to be an excellent way to improve the adsorption performance of this material concerning dyes.