USE OF FUNCTIONALIZED CALOTROPIS PROCERA FIBER FOR ADSORPTION OF DYE FROM TEXTILE EFFLUENTS
Calotropis procera. Textile effluents. Adsorption. Dye.
The present study used Calotropis procera fiber as a natural adsorbent for the reactive
dye present in textile effluents. The justification for choosing this dye was due to its
wide use in dyeing processes on cotton substrates. Due to the lack of affinity of the fiber
with water, the fiber was submitted to a functionalization with chitosan, aiming at a
better adsorption and interaction between fiber and effluent. The adsorbents used, for
the most part, are not biodegradable, which is currently not interesting for the
environment, the current search is for environmentally friendly materials. The
Calotropis fiber was selected due to its high predominance in the northeast region of
Brazil, because it is considered a weed and because it has internal voids that help in the
adsorption process, in addition to being biodegradable. The use of chitosan as a
functionalizing agent is justified by its non-toxicity, biocompatibility and
biodegradability. The fiber characteristics were evaluated with the aid of SEM, FTIR
and XRD analysis. The effluent was characterized through the environmental
parameters of pH, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO) and UV-Vis
absorbance, these analyzes were performed before and after contact with the fiber. The
SEM analyzes demonstrated that Calotropis has a smooth surface, without convolutions
and internally hollow, even after its functionalization, the infrared analyzes indicated
the presence of carboxylic and hydroxyl groups. The adsorption efficiency was analyzed
using the effluent generated by dyeing with reactive dye BLUE BG-R CONC, obtaining
a removal of 100%. The results showed that Calotropis procera functionalized with
chitosan is suitable for the adsorption of reactive dye, being a simple alternative,
environmentally correct, being a potential method for removing color from textile
effluents, contributing to the preservation of the environment.