Kinetic and thermodynamic studies for alizarin removal from liquid phase using poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA)

Abstract Surface hydrogel polymer i.e. poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) was used as an adsorbent for the removal of hazardous toxic dye alizarin from a solvent phase of the solution. The whole adsorption phenomenon was well explained and elucidated in the present study. The adsorbent under consideration was synthesized and characterized using various analytical techniques such as SEM and ATR-FTIR. Impacts of various physico-chemical parameters such as contact time, pH and dye concentration were illustrated; the optimized values of the influential parameters was found to be 50 min, 8, and 20 ppm, respectively by keeping the adsorbent dose constant at 0.5 g. The obtained experimental kinetic data was well fitted and in good agreement with pseudo-second order model. Thermodynamic studies revealed the feasibility and endothermic nature of the system. The results of the present study suggest that surface hydrogel polymer i.e. PHEMA can be beneficially used for the rapid removal of hazardous dye alizarin from the solvent phase.