Bioresource Technology 85 (2002) 205206

Short communication

Activated parthenium carbon as an adsorbent for the removal of

dyes and heavy metal ions from aqueous solution
Rajeshwarisivaraj *, V. Subburam
Department of Environmental Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641 046, Tamil Nadu, India
Received 2 January 2002; received in revised form 5 March 2002; accepted 18 March 2002

Abstract
Parthenium hysterophorous (L) is a perennial weed distributed all over the country. Carbonized parthenium activated with conc.
H2 SO4 and ammonium persulphate was eective in the removal of dyes, heavy metals and phenols. Variation in the percentage
removal of adsorbates was observed with increase in the contact time. Among the adsorbates tested, the anity of the activated
parthenium carbon was highest for Hg2 , Methylene Blue and Malachite Green.
2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

1. Introduction
Parthenium hysterophorous (L) is one of the seven
most dangerous noxious weeds of the world (Dhawan,
1995) and has assumed the status of a major health
hazard (Khosla and Sobti, 1979). The colonization eciency of it is higher than any other weed in India.
Therefore neither its containment nor its eradication is
practically possible in a long term prospective with out
the total involvement of the government and the public.
It has no known benecial use.
Activated carbons prepared from coconut shells, ricehusks, nutshells (Pollard et al., 1992), coconut tree saw
dust (Kadirvelu et al., 2000) and Coirpith (Namasivayam and Kadirvelu, 1998) nd application in the removal of various ions and dyes from wastewaters. In this
context, this short communication presents the preliminary ndings of the application of the carbonized parthenium biomass in the removal of selected metal ions,
dyes, nitrate, PO4 , and phenol from aqueous solution.
2. Methods
Parthenium plants were collected, cut into very small
pieces (3 mm size) and dried in sunlight until all the
*

Corresponding author. Address: Nallampalli, Kolarpatti (PO),

Pollachi (TK), 642 107 Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India.
E-mail address: rajeshwarisivaraj@mailcity.com (Rajeshwarisivaraj).

moisture evaporated. One part of parthenium plant

material was taken and to it was added two parts of
conc. H2 SO4 and 0.2 part of ammonium persulphate in
the ratio 1:2:0.2. The material was kept in a hot air oven
for 12 h at 120  5 C, and was then washed with distilled water to remove the free acid and soaked in 10%
NaHCO3 solution overnight to remove the residual
acids. The material was then washed with distilled water
and dried at 80 C. The particle size of 75150 lm was
used in the present study. The characteristics of the
carbon are summarized in Table 1. The reagents used
for the analysis were of analytical reagent grade and
were obtained from BDH and GLAXO. The adsorbates
included Acid Violet 17 (Acid dye), Rhodamine-B (Basic
dye), Procion Orange M2R (Reactive dye), Malachite
Green (Tri phenyl methane dye), Methylene Blue (Basic
dye), Hg(II) [HgCl2 ], Cr(VI) [K2 Cr2 O7 ], Fe(II) [FeCl2 ],
phenol and nitrate.
Treatment consisted of agitating one gram of adsorbent and 100 ml of adsorbate solution (10 mg/L) in 250
ml conical asks at 160 rpm using a mechanical shaker
(Orbital shaker L). The asks were withdrawn at predetermined time intervals. The adsorbate was separated
from the adsorbent by centrifugation at 10,000 rpm and
the supernatant was analyzed.
3. Analysis
The removal of dyes, metals ions, phenols and nitrate
was determined spectrophotometrically, using a Hitachi

0960-8524/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 8 5 2 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 8 9 - 5

206

Rajeshwarisivaraj, V. Subburam / Bioresource Technology 85 (2002) 205206

Table 1
Characteristics of carbon
Parameter

H2 SO4 NH4 S2 O8

pH
Conductivity (ls/cm)
Specic gravity
Bulk density (g/ml)
Porosity (%)
Decolorising power (mg/g)
Ion exchange capacity (mequiv/g)
Moisture (%)
Volatile matter (%)
Fixed carbon (%)
Ash (%)
Surface area (m2 /g)
Iron (w/w, %)
Silica (w/w, %)
Sodium (w/w, %)
Potassium (w/w, %)
Phosphorus (w/w, %)
CCl4 activity (w/w, %)
Phenol adsorption capacity (mg/g)
Matter soluble in water (%)
Matter soluble in 0.25 M HCl (%)

5.85
0.19
0.660
1.42
78.48
30.00
0.45
1.2
57.01
34.00
9.42
760.57
1.2
Nil
5.9
0.24
BDL
1.35
2.1
2.51
0.50

Table 2
Percentage removal of metal ions, dyes, phenols and nitrate from
aqueous solution by parthenium activated carbon with increasing
contact time
Adsorbates

Initial pH

% Removal
30 min

60 min

90 min

Cr(VI)
Hg(II)
Fe(II)
Phenol
Nitrate
Rhodamine-B
Procion Orange
M2R
Acid Violet 17
Malachite Green
Methylene Blue

3.42
6.82
5.83
6.35
4.75
3.42
6.82

36.25
100.00
99.7
67.98
88.32
97.82
49.64

63.75
100.00
100.00
68.00
94.39
97.99
49.64

100.00
100.00
100.00
68.00
94.39
100.00
49.64

5.83
6.35
4.75

69.66
100.00
100.00

75.86
100.00
100.00

81.72
100.00
100.00

was 100% even at the lowest contact time (30 min) indicating their high anity for the carbonized parthenium.

Below detection limit.

UVVIS spectrophotometer model U 3210, by measuring the absorbance values of individual dyes, metal ions,
phenol and nitrate solutions before and after treatment,
at their maximum wave length absorption values (553.8
nm for Rhodamine-B, 587 for Acid Violet 17, 492.6 nm
for Procion Orange M2R, 660 nm for Methylene Blue,
540 nm for Cr(VI), 565 nm for Hg(II), 270 nm for
phenol, 525 nm for Fe(II) and 410 nm for nitrate). All
experiments were carried out in duplicate and average
results are given.

4. Results and discussion

The results are presented in Table 2. There is an appreciable adsorption capacity for the adsorbates studied.
The percent removal of Cr(VI), phenol, nitrate and Acid
Violet 17 increased with increase in contact time with the
adsorbent, whereas those of Fe(II), Procion Orange
M2R and Rhodamine-B had almost reached the maximum within 60 min of contact time. The percent removal of Hg(II), Methylene Blue, and Malachite Green

5. Conclusion
Preliminary studies indicated that the carbonized
parthenium could be eectively used for the quantitative
removal of toxic ions, dyes, phenols and nitrate. As the
absorbent is a weed, the treatment process proves to be
economical.

References
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