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The adsorption of bixin in aprotic solvents onto acid- and alkali-treated kaolinite was investigated. Kaolinite was treated three times, for 6 h each, with 8 M HCl or 5 M KOH. The adsorbents were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, EDS, and BET-N2. The effects of contact time and dye concentration on adsorption capacity and kinetics, electronic transition of bixin before and after adsorption, and also mechanism of bixin-kaolinite adsorption were investigated. Dye adsorption followed pseudo-second order kinetics and was faster in acetone than in dimethyl carbonate. The best adsorption results were obtained for KOH-treated kaolinite. In both of the solvents, the adsorption isotherm followed the Langmuir model and adsorption capacity was higher in dimethyl carbonate (qm = 0.43 mg/g) than in acetone (0.29 mg/g). The adsorption capacity and kinetics of KOH-treated kaolinite (qm = 0.43 mg/g, k2 = 3.27 g/mg·min) were better than those of HCl-treated kaolinite (qm = 0.21 mg/g, k2 = 0.25 g/mg·min) and natural kaolinite (qm = 0.18 mg/g, k2 = 0.32 g/mg·min). There are shift in the band position of maximum intensity of bixin after adsorption on this adsorbent. Adsorption in this system seemed to be based essentially on chemisorption due to the electrostatic interaction of bixin with the strong basic and reducing sites of kaolinite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We analyze bixin UV–visible changes spectrum in various solvents. [•] We use Onsager cavity model and Hansen theory to explain bixin–solvent interactions. [•] The S0 →S2 transition energies of bixin depend on the solvent refractive index and dispersion forces. [•] We report bixin have higher absorption coefficient in aprotic polar solvents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]