Removal of reactive yellow 160 from aqueous solution by alumina nanoparticles derived from aluminium waste residue

In the current study, alumina nanoparticles were prepared from waste aluminum residue by an extraction and gel formation method. The prepared alumina nanoparticles were used to remove reactive yellow 160 (RY160) from an aqueous solution. The kinetics and adsorption equilibrium were discussed as well. The results show that, the heat-treated samples were consistings only of Al and O elements only and their crystalline phase was pure alumina in the nano scale. The alumina nanoparticles were effective adsorbents for the removal of RY160 from aqueous solution with percentage removal 100 % for samples heat-treated at 110°C and 600°C. The adsorption data was well fitted to Langmuir isotherm model for all prepared samples indicating a monolayer adsorption. The adsorption process was found to be endothermic and the adsorption takes place physically on the surface of alumina nanoparticles. The prepared alumina nanoparticles samples can be used as an efficient adsorbent in water treatment.