Calcined Magnesite As An Adsorbent For Cationic and Anionic Dyes: Characterization, Adsorption Parameters, Isotherms and Kinetics Study

Received:
13 June 2018
Revised:
Calcined magnesite as an
27 August 2018
Accepted:
27 September 2018
adsorbent for cationic and
Cite as: T. Ngulube,
J. R. Gumbo, V. Masindi,
anionic dyes: characterization,
A. Maity. Calcined magnesite
as an adsorbent for cationic
and anionic dyes:
adsorption parameters,
characterization, adsorption
parameters, isotherms and
kinetics study.
isotherms and kinetics study
Heliyon 4 (2018) e00838.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.
e00838
T. Ngulube a,∗, J. R. Gumbo b, V. Masindi c,d, A. Maity e,f

a
Department of Ecology and Resources Management, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda,
Private bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, Limpopo, South Africa
b
Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda,
Private bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, Limpopo, South Africa
c
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Built Environment, Hydraulic Infrastructure Engineering,
P.O BOX 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
d
Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences,
University of South Africa (UNISA), P. O. Box 392, Florida, 1710, South Africa
e
Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
f
DST/CSIR National Centre for Nanostructured Materials, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),
Pretoria, South Africa
∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: tholisongulube@gmail.com (T. Ngulube).
Abstract
The ability of calcined magnesite for Methylene Blue (MB), Direct Red 81 (DR81),
Methyl Orange (MO) and Crystal Violet (CV) dye removal was evaluated in this
study. The experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that alkaline earth
carbonates can remove dyes from water through a combination of sorption and
coagulative reactions involving Mg2þ. To achieve that, several operational
factors like residence time, dosage, adsorbent concentration and temperature were
appraised. The batch study proved that calcined magnesite is effective in the
treatment of MB, DR81, CV and MO contaminated water and moreover it
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00838
2405-8440/Ó 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Article Nowe00838
performed well in terms of color removal. The adsorption equilibrium data were
analysed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, DubinineRadushkevich and Temkin
isotherm models, and the DubinineRadushkevich and Temkin models were
found to be the most appropriate fit to MB and MO dyes respectively. The
adsorption kinetics process primarily followed the Elovich and Pseudo-second
order model, a possible indication that chemisorption was the rate limiting step
during the dye uptake process. With the adsorptionedesorption cycle repeated
four times, the calcined magnesite regeneration efficiency for DR81 and MO
loaded dyes remained very high. According to the results of this study, it can be
concluded that calcined magnesite can be used effectively for the adsorption of
MB, DR81, CV and MO from wastewater.
Keywords: Environmental science, Theoretical chemistry, Physical chemistry,

Materials chemistry, Analytical chemistry
1. Introduction
Wastewater from numerous industries contain synthetic dyes from paper, textiles,
leather and plastics (Ngulube et al., 2017). Wastewater that is discharged into natural
canals and watercourses from dye manufacturing industries is a serious environ-
mental threat (Yang et al., 2018). Even small amounts of dyes are capable of coloring
huge volumes of water, thereby influencing the aesthetic value and decreasing light
penetration needed for aquatic plant photosynthesis. Moreover, a lot of dyes are
poisonous or carcinogenic (Uyar et al., 2016; Santos and Boaventura, 2016; Zhou
et al., 2014). Hence, the elimination of dyes from wastewater is of great importance
for environmental safeguard. Methods have been developed for dye removal in
wastewater streams such as precipitation (Gupta et al., 2013), oxidation
(Ghoreishi and Haghighi, 2003), adsorption (Gupta and Suhas, 2009), coagulation
(Yagub et al., 2014) and membrane separation (Gupta and Suhas, 2009). Nonethe-
less, adsorption is recognized to be one of the effective techniques to treat waste-
water (Ngulube et al., 2017). Activated carbon has been promoted as a good
adsorbent due to its great sorption capacity for the dyes (Bello and Ahmad, 2012;
Ozer et al., 2012; Malarvizhi and Ho, 2010). However, the high cost of activated car-
bon has led scientists to seek for low-cost adsorbents.
The removal of dyes by magnesium compounds has been proven to be a good alter-
native to the common adsorbents used in the treatment of industrial effluents
(Bouyakoub et al., 2011), especially since conventional adsorbents like activated
carbon and alum are not effective at pHs found in common wastewaters (Gao
et al., 2007; Wang et al., 2009). However, the mechanisms by which dyes are
responsive to removal by this kind of treatment have not been widely studied
(Gao et al., 2007; Tan et al., 2000; Lee et al., 2006). Particularly, the adsorptive-
2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00838
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coagulating mechanism that was originally proposed by Leentvaar and Rebhun

(1982), must be further established.
The aim of this study is then to offer some new understanding into the capability of
calcined magnesite, to remove dyes from synthetic dye wastewater. The principal
aim of this study was to determine its potential application in the removal of Direct
Red 81 (DR81), Methylene Blue (MB), Methyl Orange (MO) and Crystal Violet
(CV) from aqueous solution by employing physico-chemical processes of
adsorption.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials
Calcined magnesite used in this investigation was obtained from Folovhodwe
Magnesite mine, South Africa. MB, MO and CV dyes were purchased from Ro-
chelle chemicals, South Africa. DR81 was purchased from Sigma Aldrich, South Af-
rica. MB, DR81, MO and CV have a maximum absorbency at wavelengths 664, 510,
505 and 590 nm respectively. Their chemical formulas are C16H18N3ClS.xH2O,
C29H19N2O8S2, C14H14N3NaO3S and C25N3H30Cl respectively. HCl, KCl and
NaOH were also supplied by Rochelle Chemicals, South Africa.
2.2. Preparation and characterization of calcined magnesite

Calcined magnesite was milled to powder (particle size <50 mm) for 15 min at 1000
rpm by a stainless-steel vibratory ball mill (Retsch RS 200, Germany). The
powdered material was kept in a zip-lock plastic bag for further use. FTIR analysis
of calcined magnesite before and after dye adsorption was done using a FTIR spec-
trometer (Bruker Alpha, Germany). The phase structure of calcined magnesite
before and after dye adsorption was evaluated by a PANalytical X’Pert Pro powder
diffractometer (PANalytical, Netherlands). The morphology of calcined magnesite
was analyzed using a scanning electron microscope JEM e 2100 Electron Micro-
scope (JEOL, USA). The solid addition method as explained by Izuagie et al.
(2016) was used to carry out Point of Zero Charge (PZC). Thermal stability was
analyzed by a thermo gravimetric analyzer (TGA Q500, TA instrument) under air
atmosphere with a flow rate of 50 mL/min and a heating rate of 10 C/min. The
determination of surface area was done via Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) analysis
(Micromeritics Tristar II, Norcross, GA, USA).
2.3. Preparation of MB, DR81, MO and CV working solutions

The MB, DR81, CV and MO solutions were prepared by dissolving suitable
amounts of dry dye powder accurately weighed on an electronic balance (RADWAG
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electronic balance, Wagi Elektroniczen, Poland) in deionized water (ELGA, Micra

Veolia Water Solution and Technologies, United Kingdom) to prepare a 1000 mg/
L stock solution. Solutions to be used during experiments were obtained by serial
dilutions to get solutions at desired concentrations. The final concentration of MB,
DR81, MO and CV were estimated for each sample absorbance at the wavelength
corresponding to maximum absorption peak using a UV/VIS spectrophotometer
(Thermoscientific Orion Aqua Matte 7000, China). A standard calibration curve,
used for the transformation of absorbance information into concentrations for equi-
librium studies, was plotted to calculate the dye concentration of the experiments.
The percentage removal was computed by Eq. (1):

Co Ce
Percentage removal ¼ 100 ð1Þ
Co
The capacity of adsorption, Qe (mg/g) was obtained using Eq. (2)

Co Ce
Qe ¼ v ð2Þ
m
where Co and Ce are the initial and equilibrium dye concentrations in solution (mg/
L), v is the solution volume (L) and m is the weight (g) of dry adsorbent used.
2.4. Batch adsorption experiments

2.4.1. Adsorption of MB, DR81, MO and CV as a function of
contact time
To evaluate the effect of contact time on MB, DR81, MO and CV the adsorption ex-
periments were carried out by measuring 50 mL of 10 mg/L MB, DR81, MO and CV
solutions into 250 mL glass Erlenmeyer flasks. Deionized water (ELGA, Micra Veo-
lia Water Solution and Technologies, UK) was used to prepare all the synthetic dye
solutions. A fixed quantity of adsorbent (1 g) was added to each flask and kept on a
reciprocating table shaker (Labotec, Model 207, South Africa) then agitated for
varying contact times (15, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 min). After the equilibration time,
the solutions were left to settle for 30 min and then the supernatant solution absor-
bance was recorded by a VIS spectrophotometer. The experiments were carried out
in triplicate at room temperature (25 C) and the mean values reported.

dosage
To evaluate the effect of adsorbent dosage on MB, DR81, MO and CV removal, 50
mL of 10 mg/L dye solution was measured into 18, 250 mL glass Erlenmeyer flasks
and 0.1 g, 0.2 g, 0.4 g, 0.8 g, 1 g and 2 g of calcined magnesite were added to each
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flask. The mixtures were then agitated at 250 rpm using a reciprocating shaker for 60
min. After the equilibration time, the solutions were left to settle for 30 min and then
the supernatant solution absorbance was recorded by a VIS spectrophotometer.
2.4.3. Adsorption of MB, DR81, MO and CV as a function of dye

concentration
To evaluate the effect of initial MB, DR81, MO and CV concentration on the removal
capacity of calcined magnesite, samples of 50 mL of 1, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mg/L MB,
DR81, MO and CV solutions were measured into 18, 250 mL glass Erlenmeyer flasks
and optimum dosages of calcined magnesite was added to each flask separately. The
mixtures were then agitated for 60 min at 250 rpm using a reciprocating shaker. After
the equilibration time, the solutions were left to settle for 30 min and then the super-
natant solution absorbance was recorded by a VIS spectrophotometer.

temperature
To evaluate the effect of solution temperature on the removal capacity of calcined
magnesite, samples of 50 mL of and optimum concentrations of MB, DR81, MO
and CV solution were measured into 12, 250 mL glass Erlenmeyer flasks and optimum
dosages of calcined magnesite were added to each flask separately. The mixtures were
then agitated for 60 min at 250 rpm using the reciprocating water bath shaker set at
specified temperatures (298, 308, 318, and 328 K) with each different 3 samples. After
the equilibration time, the solutions were left to settle for 30 min and then the super-
natant solution absorbance was recorded by a VIS spectrophotometer.
2.5. Adsorption isotherm studies

Analyzing equilibrium data assists in developing some mathematical models that are
helpful in quantitatively describing results. When put together, the basic assump-
tions and equations of the equilibrium models give imperative data on the mecha-
nisms of adsorption. The following models were used in this study.
2.5.1. The Langmuir isotherm model

The Langmuir isotherm has been widely used to discuss various
adsorbateeadsorbent combinations for both liquid and gas phase adsorptions
(Langmuir, 1918). The linear Langmuir isotherm may be represented by Eq. (3):

Ce 1 1
¼ Ce þ ð3Þ
qe Qm Qm b
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Where Ce is the equilibrium concentration (mg/L), qe is the amount adsorbed at

equilibrium (mg/g), b represents the Langmuir isotherm constant (L/mg) and Qm
is the maximum adsorption capacity (mg/g) for a complete monolayer coverage.
The separation factor (RL ) Hall et al. (1966) was calculated from Eq. (4):
1
RL ¼ ð4Þ
ð1 þ bCoÞ
The RL value indicates the shape of the isotherm. RL values between 0 and 1 indicate
favorable adsorption, 0 indicates irreversible adsorption, 1 means linear adsorption
while a value greater than 1 indicates an unfavorable adsorption.
2.5.2. The Freundlich isotherm model

The Freundlich model is an isotherm commonly used to describe heterogeneous sys-
tems (Freundlich, 1906). The model is represented in linear form by Eq. (5):
logQe ¼ n log Ce þ log KF ð5Þ
KF and 1/n are the Freundlich constants, describing the adsorption capacity and in-
tensity respectively. The constants n and KF are determined from the slope and the
intercept of the plot log Qe versus log Ce . When the value of n lies between 1 and 10
it represents beneficial adsorption (Aljeboree et al., 2017).
2.5.3. The Dubinin and Radushkevich isotherm model

Common isotherm Eqs. (6) and (7) used analyse the rectangularity degree of iso-
therms. Eq. (6) is the Dubinin Radushkevich as projected by Dubinin and
Radushkevich (1947).
lnqe ¼ KDR ε2 þ ln qDR ð6Þ

1
Where ε ¼ RT ln 1 þ ð7Þ
Ce
where qDR (mg/g) is the adsorption capacity, KDR ðmol2 =kJ2 Þ is a constant related
to the sorption energy (mol/k/J), ε is the Polanyi potential, T is the absolute temper-
ature in Kelvin, R is the universal gas constant (8.314 J/mol/K).
E, which is the mean free energy of adsorption for each molecule of the adsorbate is
calculated by Eq. (8)
1
E ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð8Þ
2KDR
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E (kJ/mol) is the mean adsorption energy indicative of the heat of adsorption, signi-
fying a physical or a chemical adsorption process.
2.5.4. The Temkin isotherm model

The Temkin model as represented by Eqs. (9) and (10) was also applied in fitting the
experimental data. The Temkin isotherm adopts that the adsorption heat on the sur-
face declines linearly with the coverage adsorbate - adsorbent interaction (Temkin
and Pyzhev, 1940). The Temkin adsorption isotherm linear form is given by Eq. (9):
qe ¼ b ln a þ b lnCe ð9Þ
RT
where b ¼ ð10Þ
b
T is the absolute temperature in Kelvin, R is the universal gas constant (8.314 J/mol/
K), and b is the Temkin constant related to heat of adsorption (J/mol), b is Temkin
constant related to maximum binding energy (J/mol) and a is the equilibrium bind-
ing constant (L/mg).
2.6. Kinetic studies

To determine the rate limiting step in adsorption processes, kinetics of adsorption in
batch systems are studied (Han, 2006). To evaluate the adsorption kinetics of MB,
DR81, MO and CV molecules, four adsorption kinetic models were used.
2.6.1. The pseudo first-order equation

The pseudo first-order model defines adsorption in solideliquid systems founded on
solids adsorption capacity (Ho, 1995).
Linearly, the pseudo first order model (Eq. (11)) is given as:

k1 t
logðqe qt Þ ¼ log ðqe Þ ð11Þ
2:303
Where qe (mg/g) is the capacity of adsorption at equilibrium, qt (mg/g) is the

capacity of adsorption at time t, and k1 (1/min) is the pseudo-first-order rate
constant.
2.6.2. The pseudo second order kinetics

The pseudo second-order rate equation has been used to study chemical adsorption
kinetics on liquid solutions founded on solid phase adsorption (Tran et al., 2017).
Linearly it is given by Eq. (12):
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t 1 1
¼ tþ ð12Þ
qt qe k2 q2e
where k2 is the rate constant for pseudo second-order adsorption (g/mg/h) k2 qe or

h (mg/g/h) is the initial adsorption rate.
2.6.3. The Elovich model

The Elovich equation is satisfied in chemical adsorption processes and is suitable for
systems with heterogeneous adsorbing surfaces (Wu et al., 2009). In reactions
involving chemical adsorption of gases on a solid surface without desorption of
the products, the rate decreases with time due to an increase in surface coverage
(Aharoni and Tompkins, 1970). One of the most useful models for describing
such activated chemical adsorption is the Elovich Eq. (13) (Juang and Chen,
1997) which is given by:
1 1
qt ¼ lnðabÞ þ lnt ð13Þ
b b
where a and b are constants. The constant a (mg/g/min) considered as the initial
sorption rate and b (mg/g) is the desorption constant during any one experiment
and qt (mg/g) is the amount of dye adsorbed at time t (min).
2.6.4. The intraparticle diffusion model

According to Weber and Morris (1963), if the rate-limiting step is intraparticle diffu-
sion, a plot of solute sorbed against the square root of the contact time should yield a
straight line passing through the origin (Poots et al., 1976). The most-widely applied
intraparticle diffusion Eq. (14) for adsorption systems is given by Weber and Morris
(1963):
1
qt ¼ kid t 2 þ C ð14Þ
Where kid is the intraparticle diffusion rate constant (mg/g/min) and qt is the
amount of dye adsorbed at any time t (mg/g) and C is the intercept.
2.7. Regeneration studies

The regeneration potential of calcined magnesite was evaluated by using 0.01 M
NaOH. An adsorption experiment was done using 2 g adsorbent in a 50 mL, 10
mg/L dye solution. The quantity of adsorbed dye was noted, and the adsorbent
was dried in the oven for 12 h at 105 C. Afterwards the adsorbent was soaked
into 100 mL, 0.01 M NaOH solution and the mixture was centrifuged at 50 000
rpm for 15 min. The amount of dye desorbed into the solution was recorded. The
adsorbent was again washed by 100 mL deionized water. The desorbed adsorbent
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was again dried in the oven for 12 h at 105 C. The dried adsorbent was again used
for another adsorption experiment as described above. The same procedure using the
same adsorbent was repeated three times.
3. Results and discussion

3.1. Adsorbent characterization
3.1.1. Point of zero charge (PZC) analysis
The point of zero charge (PZC) designates a pH wherein the net total particle charge
is zero. PZC is among the most significant parameters helpful in the description of
variable-charge surfaces. When the adsorbent has a pH that is higher than its PZC,
the adsorbent’s surface will be negatively charged and consequently display the
capability of exchanging cations, whereas, if its pH is below its PZC, the adsorbent
will mostly retain anions (Ngulube et al., 2016). Fig. 1 shows that calcined magne-
site has a PZC at around pH 12. Like observations were made by Han et al. (1998) on
MgO. They pointed out that, the point of zero charge of magnesium oxide is well
documented and is usually pH 12. Calcined magnesite is highly alkaline when
in aqueous solution. During the adsorption experiments, after equilibration with
the four different dyes, the final solution pH of the dyes ranged from around
10e11. pH results during the variation of contact time with the acidic and basic
dyes are shown in Table 1:
The general observation was that despite being used in acidic or alkaline conditions,
the introduction of calcined magnesite would change the aqueous solution to highly
alkaline. Based on that, there was no further need to evaluate the influence of solu-
tion pH on the removal of the various dyes using calcined magnesite. Since this cur-
rent adsorbent does not yield an acceptable pH for effluent discharge, it then
becomes imperative for the wastewater to be neutralized by an acid to bring the
pH of the contents into the acceptable range before disposal.
Fig. 1. Point of Zero Charge of calcined magnesite.
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Table 1. pH values before and after dye adsorption.
Dye pH before adsorption pH after adsorption
MB 10.63 11.99
DR81 8.24 11.86
MO 8.99 12.59
CV 10.39 11.70
3.1.2. X ray diffraction (XRD) analysis

The XRD patterns of the calcined magnesite sample showed that the major mineral
constituent of the sample is periclase, which is basically a cubic form of magnesium
oxide (MgO). Fig. 2 shows the crystal-chemical structure of calcined magnesite as
analyzed by XRD.
XRD patterns of calcined magnesite are shown in Fig. 3(a). The sharp peaks in the
XRD patterns imply good crystallinity of the sample. The identification of the pat-
terns confirms the material to be largely periclase, this was also observed by
Masindi and Gitari (2016) for cryptocrystalline magnesite. The diffraction patterns
of the raw calcined magnesite and MB, DR81, MO and CV reacted calcined
magnesite show that calcined magnesite had some minor but significant changes
after MB, DR81, MO and CV adsorption. The raw calcined magnesite diffracto-
gram shows the presence of periclase (MgO) in notable amounts at approximately
(32, 45, 50 and 75) 2W, quartz (SiO2) and periclase at about 32 2W and magne-
site (MgCO3) at 38 2W. Initial studies on the crystal structures of various carbon-
ate materials also reported essentially the same mineralogy as observed for the
material used in this study (Effenberger et al., 1981). After MB, DR81, MO
and CV adsorption, the intensity of the characteristic basal peak at 50.25 2W
was reduced and slightly shifted to 51.24 2W. The shift and decrease in intensity
Fig. 2. Crystal-chemical structure of calcined magnesite (Light blue represents Mg; Dark blue represents
O; Black represents C).
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Fig. 3. (a) XRD diffractogram of raw and MB, DR81, MO and CV reacted calcined magnesite (b) FTIR
spectra of raw and MB, DR81, MO and CV reacted calcined magnesite.
indicate structural change in calcined magnesite is a result of the formation of bru-

cite (Mg (OH)2). MgO can react with water (aqueous solution of dyes) to form
Mg(OH)2 according to the equation
MgO þ H2 O/MgðOHÞ2 ð15Þ
Thus, the presence of brucite (Mg (OH)2) after adsorption of the dye could be a
result of the hydroxylation reaction between the MgO with the aqueous solution
of dyes. Brucite formation as a new material is also seen with new peaks at
(21.57, 45.00, 60.66, 69.99 and 72.81) 2W. This is evidence of a precipitation re-
action taking place with hydroxides precipitating out of the solution. Similar re-
sults were obtained by Bouyakoub et al. (2011) when using MgCl to remove a
reactive dye from textile waste water. Their results showed that brucite particles
were formed when MgCl2 was applied to the textile wastewaters. This means
that on contact with dyes, calcined magnesite reacted and changed in mineralogy
as evidenced by the results. After reaction with DR81, there was also a notable
increase of calcite from 1.79 to 7.42%. Another carbonate mineral in the form
of dolomite CaMg(CO3)2 was also formed in small quantities on the DR81 and
MO loaded calcined magnesite.
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3.1.3. Fourier transform infra-red analysis

The FTIR spectra for raw and MB, DR81, MO and CV treated calcined magnesite is
shown in Fig. 3(b). Since the FTIR spectra of both the raw and MB, DR81, MO and
CV treated calcined magnesite were more similar, only MB, DR81, MO and CV re-
acted calcined magnesite spectra were used to highlight the changes that occurred
after adsorption. The FTIR spectroscopic studies confirm the results of XRD studies.
After MB, DR81, MO and CV reaction, a brucite bending vibration corresponding to
3694 cm1 was observed. The formation of brucite as seen on the FTIR spectrum
corroborates the results reported on XRD, wherein new brucite peaks were seen.
This new band could be used as evidence for adsorption of MB, DR81, MO and
CV on calcined magnesite which further certifies the successful adsorption of
MB, DR81, MO and CV by calcined magnesite. Similar developments of new bands
were also observed on other studies after adsorbents interacted with the dye solution
(Li et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2013). From the FTIR spectra of raw and MB, DR81,
MO and CV reacted calcined magnesite it can be affirmed that these spectra are more
similar, they only differ on the development of a new band at 3694 cm1. Raw
magnesite shows a system of bands characteristic of periclase stretching vibration
corresponding to band 1450 and 880 cm1 (Masindi et al., 2015). The vibration
at 1450 cm1, also supports the presence of carbonate materials including CaCO3
(calcite) and MgCO3 (magnesite). These results confirm the mineralogical composi-
tion as given by the XRD analysis which depicts the presence of periclase.
3.1.4. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA)

The results of the thermal treatments of raw calcined magnesite and after adsorption
of MB, DR81, MO and CV using the thermogravimetric analysis are shown in
Fig. 4. The thermogram of raw calcined magnesite (a) shows a multi stage decom-
position process. The decomposition process contains three phases with weight loss
between 299 e 367 C, 410e435 C and 619e742 C. The changes can be ex-
plained in terms of the decomposition of magnesite as per Eq. (16).
Magnesite þ dolomite þ calcite þ heat/dolomite þ calcite þ MgO þ CO2 ð16Þ
DR81 (c), MO (d) and CV (e) loaded thermograms showed a similar trend but
different to that of the raw calcined magnesite (a) and MB (b) loaded calcined
magnesite. This type of curve is exhibited by samples that undergo two mass losses,
in this case, between 350 and 404 C, and between 650 e 750 C. On heating at tem-
peratures above 350 C, a rapid and continual weight loss to approximately 400 C
is observed in all 3 samples, after which, a steadier change is observed in the
650e750 C temperature range. This weight loss up to 400 C can be ascribed to
hydroxylated water loss (Knowles et al., 2017) bound to the dye adsorbed calcined
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Fig. 4. Thermograms of (a) e raw calcined magnesite and (b) e MB, (c) e DR81, (d) e MO, (e) e CV-
adsorbed calcined magnesite.
magnesite. The second decomposition phase can be due to possible transformation

of the mineral phases via the loss of other volatile compounds.
There is an interesting observation with respect to MB loaded calcined magnesite

(b). Contrary to (a), (c), (d) and (e), this thermogram shows weight gain rather
than weight loss. This kind of curve is possible where there are numerous reactions
as the temperature rises. The weight increase is a result of surface oxidation reactions
(Loganathan et al., 2017), whereas the weight reduction with increase in temperature
corresponds to material decomposition.
3.1.5. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis

The SEM images of raw and MB, DR81, MO and CV reacted calcined magnesite are
shown in Fig. 5 at X 50 000 and X 25 000. The raw calcined magnesite images (a)
and (b) appear to have definite hexagonal and rectangular shapes with different sizes.
This is perfectly portrayed by image (a) which shows conspicuous quadrangular and
Fig. 5. SEM images of (a & b) e raw, (c & d) e MB, (e & f) e DR81, (g & h) e CV and (i & j) e MO
reacted calcined magnesite nanosheet particles at different magnifications (X 50 000 and 25 000).
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rod like particles. On the contrary, images of the MB e (c) & (d), CV e (g) & (h) and
MO e (i) & (j) reacted calcined magnesite have a significantly different appearance
in both size and shape. After MB, CV and MO reaction the SEM images (c, d, g, h, i
and j), particles appear to be broken down into small and medium size particles
without a distinct shape. Worth noting is the eye-catching difference of DR81 re-
acted calcined magnesite images (e) and (f). Images (e) and (f) show irregular shaped
flakes with sharp edges that are have characteristic leafy structure images. Most of
the raw calcined magnesite particles are <200 nm in size. After the reaction with
MB, DR81, MO and CV a reduction in particle sizes to <50 nm is observed,
although some bigger sized particles were still seen. In the process of reacting in
aqueous solution, MgO continuously dissolves and forms Mg (OH)2 (as evidenced
by XRD results) on the surface of the parent particles. As the reaction proceeds, the
larger particles of MgO are dissolved, and the particle size is gradually reduced. The
surfaces of other particles seem to have been sufficiently transformed through aggre-
gate particles created, yet others appeared to have a fibrous nature. This same obser-
vation was noted by Sarma et al. (2016). The transformation of the surface
topography is evidence of MB, DR81, MO and CV being loaded onto calcined
magnesite.
3.1.6. BrunauereEmmetteTeller (BET) analysis

Surface area is amongst the utmost significant physical properties that limit the qual-
ity and efficacy of an adsorbent. Variances of surface area and particle porosity seri-
ously impact its performance. The surface area of particles ultimately determines its
adsorption capacity. Table 2 shows that calcined magnesite has a BET surface area
of 10.73 m2/g. After the adsorption of dyes, the surface area of calcined magnesite
was reduced in the order: RDR81 > RMB > RMO > RCV. When compared to
other clay-based adsorbents used for dye removal, calcined magnesite has compar-
atively lower surface area (Ngulube et al., 2017). The major reason for the high
adsorption capacity of adsorbent materials is their high surface areas. If an adsorbent
material has a higher surface area, it means that it will also have a higher adsorption
Table 2. Surface areas of raw (R), MB, DR81, MO and CV reacted calcined
magnesite nanosheet.
Single point surface BET surface Langmuir surface

Area (m2/g) area (m2/g) area (m2/g)
R 10.5895 10.7305 14.6564

RMB 8.1462 8.2205 11.1543
RDR81 9.4009 9.4891 12.8352
RCV 6.3461 6.3613 8.6613
RMO 6.4828 6.4434 8.7557
Article Nowe00838
capacity compared to clays with lower surface areas (Muller, 2010). However, this
notion may not always be the case for some materials as exemplified by other studies
(Chaari et al., 2015; Hai et al., 2015). The former study showed that halloysite had a
surface area of 20 m2/g and therefore producing an adsorption capacity of 7.75 mg/g
which is comparable to the present study. However, the latter study by Hai et al.
(2015) shows that acid activated kaolinite had an exceptional high surface area of
358.6 m2/g but it produced a low adsorption capacity of 12.36 mg/g. Therefore, it
can be established that other characteristics of an adsorbent material other than its
surface area played a vital role in the adsorption of the four dyes.
3.2. Optimization of adsorption conditions

3.2.1. Contact time
The rate of contaminants removal by adsorbents gives data that is essential in the
prediction of the time needed to treat contaminated water consequently giving infor-
mation on adsorption efficiency of the adsorption system (Yagub et al., 2014). Per-
centage dye removal with time is presented in Fig. 6(a). The graph shows that
removal capacity of calcined magnesite increases slightly by increasing contact
time for MB, DR81 and CV. For MO, there was a slight fall at 30 minutes and a
rise again to the general trend after 60 minutes. The high percentage noted at first
for MO dye could be due to all active sites taking up the dye ions at the initial stages.
For all dyes, after 60 minutes of contact time, the percentage removal dropped, and
no significant further change was observed till 180 min, hence 60 minutes of contact
time was chosen as the optimum contact time for further experiments. The hypothet-
ical justification to this trend can be credited to the amount of active adsorbent sites
(Ismail and AbdelKareem, 2015). The rapid removal rate at the early stage is likely
Fig. 6. Removal of MB, DR81, MO and CV by calcined magnesite as a function of (a) e contact time;
(b) e dosage; (c) e initial dye concentration (d) e temperature.
Article Nowe00838
due to the accessibility of a great number of active sites on the surface of the adsor-
bent. Alike results were observed on other adsorbents reported for dye removal
(Elmoubarki et al., 2015; Amuda et al., 2014).
3.2.2. Adsorbent mass

Fig. 6(b) shows MB, DR81, MO and CV dye adsorption as a function of calcined
magnesite dosage. Clearly, from Fig. 6(b), increasing the dosage of the adsorbent
also increases the percentage dye removal. It is expected that increasing the dosage
of the adsorbent increases the amount of available adsorption sites available to take
up more dye molecules hence resulting in the percentage removal of dyes also
increasing (Sarma et al., 2016; Chaari et al., 2015). Rehman et al. (2013) also re-
ported on a direct association between percentage dye removal and dosage of the
adsorbent. The percentage removal increased from 67 to 94, at a dosage of
0.3e1.5 g/L. A similar adsorption pattern with adsorbent amount was also given
by Mane and Babu (2011) and Safa and Bhatti (2011). Adding the adsorbent quan-
tity, increases the obtainable adsorption spaces to a definite level against a certain
number of dye molecules (Ghaedi et al., 2011). The optimum dosages of 0.1 g for
DR81 and CV and 2 g for MB and MO were chosen for the following experiments.
3.2.3. Initial dye concentration

The trend in the percent MB, DR81, MO and CV removal with initial dye concen-
tration is reported in Fig. 6(c). The percent CV and MO removal was directly pro-
portional to the initial concentration within the evaluated initial concentration
range of 1e30 mg/L. Hence CV and MO concentration was the sorption rate driving
force at the given concentration range. A similar trend was reported by Rehman et al.
(2013) on the removal of Brilliant Green dye by red clay. The authors revealed that
the process of adsorption was directly proportional to the concentration of dyes as it
drove the mass transfer rate below a greater gradient of concentration between the
dye solution and the surface of clay. The same elucidation was reported by other au-
thors including Aroguz et al. (2008) and Auta and Hameed (2012). On the contrary,
MB and DR81 percentage removal declined with the increased initial dye concentra-
tion indicating that MB and DR81 adsorption relied on the number of actives sites
that are available for taking up MB and DR81 ions. Similar trends of reduced adsorp-
tion capacity by increasing initial dye concentration were also described before
(Tahir et al., 2016; Ullah et al., 2013).
3.2.4. Temperature
The influence of temperature on MB, DR81, MO and CV removal by calcined
magnesite is presented in Fig. 6(d). Experimental results show that as temperature
was increased from 298-328 K, percentage dye removal slightly increased for MB
Article Nowe00838
and DR81 dyes. The improved dye removal with increase in temperature may be
credited to kinetic effects due to enhanced diffusion of molecules or it can be attrib-
uted to new adsorption sites being “activated” (Zhou et al., 2014) on calcined
magnesite at higher temperature. It seemed that the increase of temperature improved
the diffusivity of dye molecules on water causing the increase of their movement into
the pores of calcined magnesite (Ngulube et al., 2017). For MO and CV dye, it was
observed that the differences in temperature had a negligible influence on the dye
removal. Sivakumar et al. (2014a,b) also reported an insignificant percent dye
removal at the different evaluated temperatures. Based on that, it was concluded
that there was no need to adjust the temperatures for dye removal experiments hence
298 K (room temperature) was fixed as the optimum temperature to be used in sub-
sequent experiment as this temperature is common for many water resources.
3.3. Isotherm studies

The batch adsorption studies were designed to evaluate the efficiency of calcined
magnesite for the removal of MB, DR81, MO and CV from aqueous solution.
The equilibrium data obtained was used to analyze the adsorption systems in view
of the Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin Radushkevich and Temkin isotherm models.
The isotherm constants of Eqs. (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10) are very valuable
factors used to predict adsorption capacities and mass transfer relations to envisage
the design and plan of batch reactors (Thilagavathy and Santhi, 2014). The equilib-
rium data for calculating isotherm constants were obtained by evaluating the effect of
MB, DR81, MO and CV initial concentration on percentage dye removal. The
isotherm model’s validity was confirmed by comparing the R2 values and compar-
ison of calculated and experimental adsorption capacities. Examination of the data
shows that all the four adsorption models could not perfectly describe the uptake
of the dyes. However, the Dubinin Radushkevich and Temkin isotherms fitted better
to MB and MO adsorption data respectively compared to all other isotherm models
tested though the R2 values of Freundlich and Dubinin Radushkevich models for
MB adsorption were close to each other. Hence both isotherms may be held respon-
sible for guiding MB adsorption, but it is also note worth noting that the best fit also
means that both experimental adsorption capacity and calculated adsorption capacity
are close to each other. In this case, the Dubinin Radushkevich isotherm adsorption
capacity was closer to experimental adsorption capacity than the Freundlich hence
the choice of the Dubinin Radushkevich as the best fit. The Dubinin Radushkevich
isotherm is generally applied to express the adsorption mechanism with a Gaussian
energy distribution onto a heterogeneous surface (Dubinin, 1960) whereas the Tem-
kin isotherm assumes that the bonding energy of adsorption decreases linearly with
increasing surface coverage (Temkin and Pyzhev, 1940). From the calculated
isotherm model parameters for the Dubinin Radushkevich model, provided in
Table 3 the mean free energy (E) was found to be 510.93 KJ/mol indicating a
Article Nowe00838
Table 3. Parameters of the adsorption isotherms for the system of calcined

magnesite.
MB DR81 MO CV
Langmuir R2 ¼ 0.003 R2 ¼ 0.4644 R2 ¼ 0.3888 R2 ¼ 0.0028

Freundlich R2 ¼ 0.9359 R2 ¼ 0.0348 R2 ¼ 0.8079 R2 ¼ 0.0627
Qm exp ¼ 0.39 (mg/g)
KF ¼ 0.0947 (mg/g)
n ¼ 1.0189
Dubinin R2 ¼ 0.9559 R2 ¼ 0.0304 R2 ¼ 0.8588 R2 ¼ 0.0627
Radushkevich Qm exp ¼ 0.39 (mg/g)
Qm cal ¼ 0.271 (mg/g)
KDR ¼ 0.0000019 (mol2/Kj2)
E ¼ 510.93 (kJ/mol)
Temkin R2 ¼ 0.8975 R2 ¼ 0.0778 R2 ¼ 0.9399 R2 ¼ 0.0627
b ¼ 0.4586 (J/mol)
a ¼ 0.7523 (L/mg)
b ¼ 5402.47 (J/mol)
chemisorption process for MB onto a heterogenous surface. If there are any adsor-
bate e adsorbate interactions, they are best described by the Temkin isotherm. The
Temkin isotherm plots for MO adsorption on calcined magnesite was linear with an
R2 of 0.94 demonstrating that adsorbate e adsorbate and adsorbate e adsorbent in-
teractions both control the dye removal process. The parameters of the Temkin
model are presented in Table 3 show a higher value for b (5402.47 J/mol) which
is an indication of the heat of sorption signifying a chemical adsorption for MO
uptake.
3.4. Kinetic studies

To study the adsorption mechanisms like chemical reaction and mass transfer, four
kinetic models were used to analyze the rate data. The adsorption parameters of the
four kinetic models are presented in Table 4.
The batch adsorption system examined in this study aims to determine if it is suitable
to be applied in treating field wastewater. The performance and cost of adsorbents
including the mode of application are significant factors controlling the process ef-
ficiency (Zhou et al., 2015). For that reason, the adsorption capacity and the time
taken to reach equilibrium become the most imperative parameters to determine in
such studies. The adsorption rate was tested using four kinetic models to understand
possible mechanisms involved in the adsorption process. The conformity between
experimental data and the model predicted values was expressed by the correlation
coefficients R2 (R2 values close or equal to 1). A relatively high R2 value indicates
that the model successfully describes the adsorption kinetics. The parameters of the
four kinetic models are presented in Table 4. The pseudo first order model yielded
relatively low R2 values hence its applicability was dismissed. However, the other
Article Nowe00838
Table 4. The pseudo first order, pseudo second order, intra particle diffusion and
Elovich kinetic model parameters for adsorption of MB, DR81, MO and CV onto
calcined magnesite.
Parameter MB DR81 M0 CV
Pseudo first order

R2 0.7930 0.0893 #N/A #N/A
Pseudo second order
Qe (mg/g) experimental 0.3932 12.5561 0.6416 14.9907
Qe (mg/g) calculated 0.2271 14.8148 0.4291 0.5209
þ17
k2 (g/mg/h) 0.0069 1.10E 0.0001 0.0271
R2 0.9600 1 1 0.9898
Intraparticle diffusion
Kid (mg/g/min) 0.2457 0.2306 0.7871 1.0056
C 0.8406 1.0834 0.3175 0.2486
2
R 1 1 0.9999 1
Elovich
a (mg/g/min) 1.3692 1.9050 0.5186 0.2854
b (mg/g) 1.713 1.8308 0.5239 0.4171
2
R 1 0.9999 0.996 1
three models gave high R2 values in the order; intra particle diffusion > Elovich >
pseudo second order as shown in Table 4. For the intra particle diffusion model to be
valid, the plot of Qt versus t0.5 should be linear and pass through the origin (Guo
et al., 2015). The fitting results (provided in the supplementary material) shows a
linear regression, however, the plot did not pass through the origin (Cs 0) which
contradicted the validity of the intra-particle diffusion model suggesting that the
adsorption of the dyes was not entirely controlled by intraparticle diffusion (Ugbe
and Ikudayisi, 2017).
The Elovich equation is satisfied in chemical adsorption processes and is suitable for
systems with heterogeneous adsorbing surfaces (Aharoni and Tompkins, 1970). As
shown by the R2 values indicated in Table 4, the Elovich equation was successfully
used to describe second e order kinetics behavior that concurs with the nature of
chemical adsorption, if the actual solid surfaces are energetically heterogeneous
(Senthilkumar et al., 2010). The results from the Elovich model corroborates those
from isotherm modelling because they confirm that adsorption took place on heter-
ogenous surfaces as evidenced by the Dubinin Radushkevich and Freundlich model
fit on MB adsorption. Moreover, the proven applicability of the Elovich model signi-
fied the role of chemisorption as probably one of the basic rates limiting mechanisms
during the adsorption process. This also concurs with the best fit shown by the
pseudo second order model. The pseudo second order model basically supports
chemisorption (Ngulube et al., 2017). Consequently, it can be determined that the
Article Nowe00838
rate limiting step in the adsorption of the four dyes is possibly chemisorption
involving valence forces, occurring possibly due to electron sharing and/or exchange
between calcined magnesite and dye ions in solution. The calculated and experi-
mental adsorption capacities for MB, DR81 and MO were also close to each other
confirming the best fit of the pseudo-second-order model. However, there was a sig-
nificant difference between the calculated and experimental adsorption capacity with
regards to CV which could possibly mean that CV uptake was not an entirely by
chemisorption as explained in the mechanisms of adsorption of different dyes on
Section 3.6.
3.5. Regeneration studies

Excellent regeneration capability of an adsorbent is a crucial factor after the
adsorption of dyes because it allows the reuse of the adsorbent. 0.1 M NaOH
was used as an eluent in this study. The four dyes showed 2 different trends
with each successive regeneration cycle. The general observation with regenera-
tion experiments is that the more the adsorbent is regenerated and used for adsorp-
tion experiments, the more the adsorbent loses its adsorption capacity. This is the
observation seen with MB and CV loaded calcined magnesite as seen in Fig. 7.
Regeneration of CV loaded calcined magnesite proved ineffective just after one
adsorption experiment whereas that of MB loaded calcined magnesite decreased
to zero after 2 cycles. The decreased leaching of color from the CV loaded
calcined magnesite is, on the other hand, a good characteristic, bearing in mind
what would happen after disposal in landfills or reusing for other uses including
integration in polymeric composites and construction materials (Ngulube et al.,
2017). On the other hand, regenerating DR81 and MO loaded calcined magnesite
with 0.1 M NaOH enhanced the adsorbent dye removal capacity with each succes-
sive cycle. The regenerated adsorbents were shown to be effective even after 3
Fig. 7. Regeneration test of calcined magnesite.
Article Nowe00838
cycles. It is shown that the percentage removal for each cycle was remarkably high
proving that NaOH is an exceptional eluent to regenerate relevant adsorbents.
Zhou et al. (2016) also recorded surprisingly high values of percentage removal
with successive regeneration cycles. This behavior indicated that adsorption of
DR81 and MO was chemical in nature. Adsorption was reversible and adsorbed
DR81 and MO could be completely recovered with the alkaline solution. A
possible explanation to this is that DR81 and MO dyes are acidic and reacting
with alkaline solution leads to electrostatic interactions between the negatively
and positively charged ions hence the reversible reactions.
3.6. Proposed mechanisms explaining the uptake of MB, DR81,

MO and CV by calcined magnesite
Various factors like the adsorbent nature (physicochemical characteristics of the
adsorbent) affect contaminants removal from water. The traditional theory of phys-
ical chemistry postulates that adsorption is a surface effect, Moreover, adsorption
can be separated into chemical and physical depending on the nature of the inter-
action between the adsorbate and adsorbent (Saad et al., 2015). For physical
adsorption, the main interactions are the Van der Waals’ (VDW) forces between
the adsorbent and adsorbate (Han et al., 2016). For chemisorption, the attraction
force present between adsorbent and adsorbate have almost equal strength as
chemical bonds and these are strong covalent bonds involving electron exchange.
From the results obtained from the kinetic models, it is evident that MB, DR81,
MO and CV were taken up by calcined magnesite particles via a chemical reaction.
However, a further differentiation can be made between the acidic dyes (DR81 and
MO) and basic dyes (MB and CV). The main mechanisms that controlled DR81
and MO uptake by magnesium nanoparticles include charge neutralization, electro-
static interaction and adsorptive coagulating mechanism. As shown in Fig. 3(a),
the XRD study displays that the adsorbent is mainly made up of periclase which
is principally magnesium hydroxide. It is also further revealed that the raw mate-
rial is almost transformed into Mg(OH)2 precipitate in the color removal process.
The precipitate structure offers a huge surface area for adsorption and a positive
electrostatic surface charge, enabling the precipitate to be a significant and efficient
coagulant. Hence, it can be inferred that calcined magnesite decolorizes the
colored aqueous solution via adsorptive coagulating mechanism and charge
neutralization.
When oxides and hydroxides of Mg and Ca ions are in solution they give out elec-
trical charges which are involved in the dye removal processes. Charge neutraliza-
tion is defined as a state in which the particles’ net electrical charge in aqueous
solution have been canceled by the adsorption of an equal number of opposite
charges (Wang et al., 2009). Magnesium carbonate is among inorganic coagulants
Article Nowe00838
that usually work via charge neutralization. Once the metal-based coagulants are in
aqueous solution, they dissociate, and metal ions are formed. In the case of magne-
sium carbonate, these liberated Mg ions and OH ions react with the dye molecules to
make several polymeric and monomeric hydrolyzed species. Metal adsorption hy-
drolyzed products on the colloid surface causes charge neutralization bringing about
van der Walls forces (O’Melia and Weber, 1972). Magnesium, with its divalent cat-
ions, is effective for neutralizing the negative charge of DR81 and MO dyes. Accord-
ing to a process respectively schematized as follows:

Mineral ion Mg2þ Positive charge 4 Dye organic fraction SO2
3
ð17Þ
Negative charge
Mg2þ þ SO2
3 4MgSO4 ð18Þ
There was an electrostatic interaction strong electrostatic attraction existing between

the positively charged magnesium ion and the negatively charged dye molecules as
shown by Eqs. (17) and (18), which could enhance the uptake of acidic dyes.
The nature of functional groups (hydrophobic/hydrophilic) present on the surface of

the adsorbent lead to various interaction like hydrogen bonding and electrostatic at-
tractions. This factor could be the one that played a role in the uptake of the basic
dyes. As discussed in the FTIR characterization results, the bands at 3600e3700
cm1 which are associated with OH groups adsorbed water shifted after dye adsorp-
tion indicating that the hydroxyl groups might have played an important role in the
adsorption process. These modifications indicate the definite electrostatic, hydrogen
bonding and dipole and ion-induced dipole forces among the functional groups of
dye molecules and hydroxyls, Furthermore, as MB and CV molecules have C]C
double bonds and benzene rings with p electrons, it could have p-p interaction
with calcined magnesite in aqueous solution.
3.7. Performance evaluation

The maximum adsorption capacities of adsorbent materials for MB, DR81, MO
and CV dye removal are listed in Table 5. It was observed that the maximum
adsorption capacity of calcined magnesite is significantly comparative with the
others reported in Table 5. The significance of the present study is to obtain
maximum adsorption capacity at ambient temperature without modifying the nat-
ural adsorption conditions and the adsorbent itself. Most adsorbents with signifi-
cantly high adsorption capacities are chemically modified but natural and/or raw
materials have lower adsorption capacities. Nonetheless, calcined magnesite
managed to achieve color removal as shown in the images provided in supplemen-
tary material.
Article Nowe00838
Table 5. Comparison of adsorption capacity of various adsorbents for MB,

DR81, MO and CV.
Adsorbent Adsorption Dye Reference

capacity (mg/g)
Calcined magnesite 0.39 MB Present study

Calcined magnesite 12.56 DR81 Present study
Calcined magnesite 0.64 MO Present study
Calcined magnesite 14.99 CV Present study
Zn-MOF 0.75 MB Sun et al.(2013)
Brazil nut shells 7.81 MB Modesto et al. (2010)
Raw clay beads 58.02 MB Auta and Hameed (2012)
Swelling clays 65 MB Li et al. (2011)
Graphene oxide 714 MB Yang et al. (2011)
Argemone mexicana 2.4 DR81 Khamparia and Jaspal (2016)
Bamboo Sawdust 6.43 DR81 Khan et al. (2012)
Pumice 10.56 DR81 Hossein and Behzad (2012)
Balsamodendron Caudatum 5.0354 DR81 Sivakumar et al. (2014a,b)
wood waste
MgNiAleCO3 118.5 MO Zaghouane-Boudiaf et al. (2012)
Activated carbon 21.42 MO Chennouf-Abdellatif et al. (2017)
Chitosan/MgO composite 60 MO Haldorai and Shim (2014)
Mineral-based porous 80 MO Wang et al. (2015)
granulated material
TLAC/Chitosan composite 2.375 CV Kumari et al. (2017)
Walled carbon nanotubes 90.52 CV Sabna et al. (2015)
Subbituminous coal 6.25 CV Schoonen and Schoonen (2014)
SnFe2O4@activated 158.73 CV Rai et al. (2015)
carbon magnetic nanocomposite
4. Conclusion
Calcined magnesite was successfully employed to remove of MB, DR81, MO and
CV from aqueous solution. Results of the adsorption showed that MB, DR81,
MO and CV dye removal improved with an increase in contact time and adsorbent
dosage. Of the two kinetic models applied to the equilibrium data, the pseudo-
second-order kinetic model could predict the adsorption kinetics well. Furthermore,
the use of calcined magnesite is economically practical particularly because it can be
recovered simple and reused afterwards. The results of this paper also provide more
insight on the mechanisms involved when magnesium solutions are applied for
discoloration of textile effluents. The mechanism of removal can be ascribed to elec-
trostatic interaction, charge neutralization and adsorptive coagulating mechanisms.
The application of magnesite for wastewater treatment seems to signify a capable
Article Nowe00838
substitute of conventional adsorbents because the optimum dose and production of

sludge are very low compared to those accomplished by several natural adsorbents.
After contacting dyes with calcined magnesite a colorless aqueous solution was
observed. Such standards conform with the environmental standards on wastewater
disposal in surface waters. Since the magnesite material showed an excellent dye
removal capacity on a batch study, it become imperative to investigate its perfor-
mance in a continuous fixed bed column mode in order assess the potential use in
real wastewater. The employed calcined magnesite adsorbent proved to be effective
in removing the dyes from water and demonstrated that it can be a hopeful answer to
dye wastewater treatment problem.
Declarations
Author contribution statement
T. Ngulube: Conceived and designed the experiments; Performed the experiments;
Analyzed and interpreted the data; Wrote the paper.
J.R Gumbo, V Masindi: Conceived and designed the experiments; Analyzed and in-
terpreted the data; Contributed reagents, materials, analysis tools or data.
A. Maity: Conceived and designed the experiments; Analyzed and interpreted the
data.
Funding statement
This work was supported by the Director of Research and Innovation, University
of Venda, National Research Foundation (NRF), Water Research Commission
(WRC).
Competing interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Supplementary content related to this article has been published online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00838.
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Calcined Magnesite As An Adsorbent For Cationic and Anionic Dyes: Characterization, Adsorption Parameters, Isotherms and Kinetics Study

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T. Ngulube a,∗, J. R. Gumbo b, V. Masindi c,d, A. Maity e,f

Keywords: Environmental science, Theoretical chemistry, Physical chemistry,

coagulating mechanism that was originally proposed by Leentvaar and Rebhun

2.2. Preparation and characterization of calcined magnesite

2.3. Preparation of MB, DR81, MO and CV working solutions

electronic balance, Wagi Elektroniczen, Poland) in deionized water (ELGA, Micra

The percentage removal was computed by Eq. (1):

The capacity of adsorption, Qe (mg/g) was obtained using Eq. (2)

2.4. Batch adsorption experiments

2.4.2. Adsorption of MB, DR81, MO and CV as a function of

2.4.3. Adsorption of MB, DR81, MO and CV as a function of dye

2.4.4. Adsorption of MB, DR81, MO and CV as a function of

2.5. Adsorption isotherm studies

2.5.1. The Langmuir isotherm model

Where Ce is the equilibrium concentration (mg/L), qe is the amount adsorbed at

2.5.2. The Freundlich isotherm model

logQe ¼ n log Ce þ log KF ð5Þ

2.5.3. The Dubinin and Radushkevich isotherm model

lnqe ¼ KDR ε2 þ ln qDR ð6Þ

2.5.4. The Temkin isotherm model

2.6. Kinetic studies

2.6.1. The pseudo ﬁrst-order equation

Where qe (mg/g) is the capacity of adsorption at equilibrium, qt (mg/g) is the

2.6.2. The pseudo second order kinetics

where k2 is the rate constant for pseudo second-order adsorption (g/mg/h) k2 qe or

2.6.3. The Elovich model

2.6.4. The intraparticle diﬀusion model

2.7. Regeneration studies

3. Results and discussion

Fig. 1. Point of Zero Charge of calcined magnesite.

Table 1. pH values before and after dye adsorption.

Dye pH before adsorption pH after adsorption

3.1.2. X ray diﬀraction (XRD) analysis

indicate structural change in calcined magnesite is a result of the formation of bru-

MgO þ H2 O/MgðOHÞ2 ð15Þ

3.1.3. Fourier transform infra-red analysis

3.1.4. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA)

Magnesite þ dolomite þ calcite þ heat/dolomite þ calcite þ MgO þ CO2 ð16Þ

magnesite. The second decomposition phase can be due to possible transformation

There is an interesting observation with respect to MB loaded calcined magnesite

3.1.5. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis

3.1.6. BrunauereEmmetteTeller (BET) analysis

Single point surface BET surface Langmuir surface

R 10.5895 10.7305 14.6564

3.2. Optimization of adsorption conditions

3.2.2. Adsorbent mass

3.2.3. Initial dye concentration

3.3. Isotherm studies

Table 3. Parameters of the adsorption isotherms for the system of calcined

Langmuir R2 ¼ 0.003 R2 ¼ 0.4644 R2 ¼ 0.3888 R2 ¼ 0.0028

3.4. Kinetic studies

Pseudo ﬁrst order

3.5. Regeneration studies

Fig. 7. Regeneration test of calcined magnesite.

3.6. Proposed mechanisms explaining the uptake of MB, DR81,

There was an electrostatic interaction strong electrostatic attraction existing between

The nature of functional groups (hydrophobic/hydrophilic) present on the surface of