Design of composite chitosan/algae/zeolite by freeze- or air-drying: A comparative adsorbent analysis for optimized removal of brilliant green dye

A bio-composite material was developed that contains chitosan, food-grade algae, and zeolite for the removal of brilliant green (BG) dye. The synthesized bio-composite was dried via two different methods (air-drying; AD, and freeze-drying; FD). The physicochemical characterization of air-dried chitosan-algae-zeolite (Cs-Alg-Zl-AD) and freeze-dried chitosan-algae-zeolite (Cs-Alg-Zl-FD) were investigated by spectroscopy (FTIR, SEM-EDX, and XPS), diffraction (XRD), surface charge via pHpzc, specific surface area (SSA) and elemental analyses. The utilization of Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was intended to optimize the three input variables, which are adsorbent dosage, pH of medium, and contact time. The adsorption optimization process yielded optimal conditions, which were verified through a desirability test and implemented in batch-mode equilibrium experiments. The Cs-Alg-Zl-FD has a higher specific surface area (SSA = 3.29 m2/g) compared to Cs-Alg-Zl-AD (SSA = 1.79 m2/g). The Cs-Alg-Zl-FD shows greater adsorptive removal of BG (98.6 %) over Cs-Alg-Zl-AD (88.6 %), in parallel agreement with differences in the SSA. Moreover, the maximum BG dye adsorption capacities of Cs-Alg-Zl-FD (119.5 mg/g) and Cs-Alg-Zl-AD (108 mg/g) at pH = 8.1 and 25 °C. The Freundlich model fits best with Cs-Alg-Zl-AD while Langmuir and Temkin models account for the Cs-Alg-Zl-FD dye adsorption. The Cs-Alg-Zl-FD shows greater dye adsorption over four adsorption cycles, as compared with the Cs-Alg-Zl-AD.