Dye adsorption and desorption properties of <i>Mentha pulegium</i> in single and binary systems

This article deals with the dye adsorption and desorption properties of Mentha pulegium ( MP ) from single and binary (mixture of dyes) systems. Direct Red 80 (DR80) and Acid Black 26 (AB26) were used as model dyes. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was used to investigate the biosorbent characteristics. The effects of biosorbent dosage, contact time, dye concentration, salt, and pH on dye removal were studied. The biosorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamic were studied. In addition, dye desorption was carried out to study adsorbent recovery. The results showed that the isotherm data of single and binary systems of dyes followed the Langmuir isotherm. The adsorption kinetic of the dyes was found to conform to a pseudosecond order kinetic model. Desorption tests showed maximum dye releasing of 97% for DR80 and 95% for AB26 in single system and 92% for DR80 and 94% for AB26 in binary system of dyes at pH 12. The thermodynamic data showed that the biosorption process is spontaneous, endothermic, and a physisorption reaction. It can be concluded that MP is an ecofriendly biosorbent to remove dyes from single and binary systems. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011