Journal of Hazardous Materials 162 (2009) 1457–1464

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Hazardous Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhazmat

Sorption of some textile dyes by beech wood sawdust

Viorica Dulman, Simona Maria Cucu-Man ∗
Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, “Al. I. Cuza” University, 11 Carol I Boulevard, Iasi 700506, Romania

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The purpose of this paper is to establish the experimental conditions for removal of several textile dyes
Received 13 December 2007 from aqueous solutions by sorption on beech wood sawdust, an industrial waste lignocellulosic product.
Received in revised form 31 March 2008 From the six dyes tested, the sorbent shows preference for three dyes: Direct Brown, Direct Brown 2
Accepted 12 June 2008
and Basic Blue 86. Sorption of dyes on the beech wood sawdust is dependent on the nature of dye, pH,
Available online 21 June 2008
dyes concentration, contact time, and amount of sorbent. By comparative kinetic studies, the rate of
sorption was found to conform with good correlation to pseudo-second-order kinetics. The parameters
Keywords:
that characterize the sorption were determined on the basis of Langmuir isotherms. The preference of
Sorption
Dyes
beech sawdust for dyes increases as follows: Basic Blue 86 < Direct Brown 2 < Direct Brown. The maximum
Beech wood sawdust capacity of sorption of the commercial dye (of ∼60% purity) was found to be 526.3 mg g−1 for Direct Brown.
Equilibrium isotherms © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Kinetics

1. Introduction There exists an extensive research work in this field, system-

The presence of dyes into streams and rivers constitutes a cat-
egory of pollutants that cannot be neglected. For industrial liquid
effluents, color is the first indication of water pollution. In the dye-
ing industry, ennobler discharge in the environment large volume
of strongly colored effluents that are heavily loaded with pollutants
and highly concentrated in salts. After reviewing the characteristics
of these effluents, Hessel et al. [1] compare the current legisla-
tion on the dyeing industry emission. They examine more closely
the discharge legislation, first in France and then in other coun-
tries around the world. Considering six of the most representative
parameters (color, BOD5, COD, suspended solids, salinity, deter-
gents and oil and grease) it was shown how different the applied
constraints are in different countries. The industrial dumping of
effluents containing dyes not only marks the natural aspect of the
rivers but also perturbs the aquatic life interfering in the trans-
mission of sunlight and thus reducing the action of photosynthesis
because some azo dyes and their degradation products are highly
toxic and even carcinogenic [2].
A convenient alternative for the classical treatment for the dis-
coloration of wastewaters from the textile industry is the usage of
some non-conventional adsorbents (natural materials, biosorbents
and waste materials from industry and agriculture) with lower cost
and high efficiency [3–6].
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +40 232 201354; fax: +40 232 201313.
E-mail addresses: dulmanv@yahoo.com (V. Dulman), sman@uaic.ro,
mancucu@yahoo.com (S.M. Cucu-Man).
atized by Crini [3]. The review represents a critical analysis of these
adsorbents with characteristics, advantages, limits and tendencies
in their use, as well the possible mechanisms of sorption.
There are many solid agricultural waste products and waste
materials from forest industries (sawdust, and bark) that are avail-
able in large quantities, are biodegradable and might be potential
sorbents due to their physico-chemical characteristics. Shukla et al.
[6] emphasized that during the past decade a great deal of attention
has been given to methods of convert these materials into useful
products. The authors consider that among these, sawdust is one of
the promising adsorbents for removing pollutants including dyes
from wastewaters.
A number of studies in the last years focused on the adsorption
of some dyes (acid, basic, reactive, and metal complex) on sawdust
of different woods: beech [7–11], rubber wood [12], walnut and
cherry tree, pine [13–15], cedar [16], clay–wood sawdust mixture
[17], Indian rosewood [18], spruce sawdust magnetically modified
[19,20], and oak [21].
Our attention was focused on the beech wood sawdust. This
adsorbent obtained from the wood local processing industry is a
lignocellulosic waste material with a complex composition. For the
indigenous beech wood the limits of variation for different principle
and secondary chemical components were established [22]. The
maximum content of cellulose is 49.23%, of lignin 24.75% and of
pentozane 20.19%.
In the optimal experimental conditions for removing of some
direct dyes from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto beech
wood sawdust, the preference for the tested dyes increases as fol-
lows: Direct Orange 37 < Direct Brown 95 < Direct Orange 8. The

0304-3894/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.06.046
1458 V. Dulman, S.M. Cucu-Man / Journal of Hazardous Materials 162 (2009) 1457–1464

maximum retention value of adsorption of 333.3 mg g−1 was
reached for the commercial dye Direct Orange 8 of ∼52% purity
[11].
Batch and column kinetics of some basic dyes on untreated
or treated beech sawdust was investigated in order to explore its
potential use as a low-cost adsorbent for textile wastewaters. The
obtained results indicated that treatment with CaCl2 [7] or pre-
hydrolysis [10] enhances the adsorption properties of the original
material. Also an increase of initial pH from 8 to 11.5 increases the
amount of methylene blue adsorbed [8].
Beech sawdust and wheat straw was used for the preparation
of ion exchangers, which might be used for decolorization of tex-
tile wastewater [23]. A product with anion exchanger properties
was obtained by chemical modification of beech wood sawdust by
quaternization and crosslinking [24]. Cr2 O7 2− ions are significantly
adsorbed on beech sawdust. The maximum sorption efficiency of
100% has been obtained at pH 1 [25].
The aim of this work is to study the removal of some commercial
textile dyes: Direct Brown, Direct Brown 2 and Basic Blue 86 by
adsorption onto beech sawdust.
The influence of some parameters such as: nature of dye, pH
of initial solutions, dyes concentration, contact time and adsor-
bent dosage has been studied. The parameters that characterize
the adsorption were estimated using Langmuir and Freundlich
isotherms. The experimental data were also analysed using the first
and second order kinetic models.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Sorbent
The beech wood sawdust obtained from the local wood process-
ing industry was milled and screened and then sieved. The particles
under 0.16 mm were used in all experiments. All the results were
reported to mass of dry adsorbent (105 ◦ C).
2.2. Dyes
There were used commercial dyes, without a preliminary purifi-
cation. The dyes were purchased from the Faculty of Textiles and
Leather, Iasi:
• C.I. Direct Brown 2 with a content of ∼60% pure dye.
• C.I. Direct Brown with a content of ∼60% pure dye.
• C.I. Basic Blue 86 with a content of ∼40% pure dye.
The molecular structure and some characteristics of dyes are
reported in Table 1. Aqueous solutions of 1000 mg L−1 textile dye

Table 1
Selection of dyes (pHi –pH of the initial dye solution)

Dye Structure of dye max pHi Retention (%)

C.I. Direct Blue 6 588 7.29 9.25

C.I. Direct Brown 2 400 7.17 51.02

C.I. Direct Green 26 598 7.13 6.44

C.I. Direct Brown 399 6.85 38.33

C.I. Reactive Red 3 530 6.87 4.76

C.I. Basic Blue 86 615 7.21 97.61

 V. Dulman, S.M. Cucu-Man / Journal of Hazardous Materials 162 (2009) 1457–1464
were prepared using double distilled water and they were subse-
quently diluted when necessary.
2.3. Sorption procedure
The sorption experiments were performed by stirring 0.2 g
sorbent with 100 mL aqueous solution of dye in a thermostated
cylindrical reactor. The concentration of dyes in samples was deter-
mined after centrifugation at 5000 rpm for 7 min by measuring the
absorbance of supernatants at the maximum wavelength of each
dye. The spectrophotometric determinations were performed with
a Cintra UV–vis spectrophotometer, respecting the conditions of
Lambert–Beer law.
The influence of pH on the removal of the dyes was studied by
varying this parameter from 3 to 10 with CH3 COOH 1 M, 10−3 M
and Na2 CO3 10−3 M. Blanks made under the same conditions were
used for all determinations at 25 ◦ C.
In all experiments the samples were stirred constantly at
400 rpm.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Dye selection
Preliminary tests were performed in order to establish the pref-
erence of beech wood sawdust for dyes. The tests were carried out
with six commercial dyes. The selection of dyes was made using
quantities of 0.1 g adsorbent, 50 mL aqueous solutions of dyes of
concentration 40 mg L−1 , without pH adjustment. The removal per-
centage of dyes was determined measuring the absorbance of the
solution at the maximum wavelength for each dye after a contact
time of 24 h (Table 1).
The results obtained with beech wood sawdust show a good
capacity of retention for Direct Brown, Direct Brown 2 and Basic
Blue 86. It was noticed the special preference for the Basic Blue dye,
the removal percentage being 97.61% in the specified conditions. For
all the other tested dyes the retention percent is lower than 10%.
3.2. The influence of pH
The effect of pH on the removal process of the selected dyes
was studied, varying this parameter from 3 to 10, by adjusting with
additions of CH3 COOH 1 M, 10−3 M and Na2 CO3 10−2 M, respec-
tively. The determinations were done using blanks, obtained in the
same conditions.
It was noticed that the retention was pH dependent. When the
pH increases in the above-mentioned range, the retention percent-
age decreases from 98.6% to 34.7% (Direct Brown 2) and from 94.4%
to 28.5% (Direct Brown). The maximum sorption for these two dyes
was attained at pH 3. For Basic Blue 86 the sorption has a maxi-
mum value of 97% at pH 4.43–7.06 (Fig. 1). The final pH (after the
dye retention) is not essentially modified in weak acid medium. In
the alkaline range a difference of 2.8 units of pH can be observed
for Direct Brown 2. The subsequent experiments were conducted
at pH 3 for Direct Brown and Direct Brown 2 and at pH 7 for Basic
Blue 86.
Namasivayam et al. [26] observed a similar trend for anionic dyes
sorbed on non-conventional sorbents. The adsorption of Direct Red
on banana pith was maximum at pH 3.
The adsorption on lignocellulosic sorbents is a complex process
that is influenced by both the nature of adsorbent and that of the
dye. The pH is an essential factor in favourable directing of the sorp-
tion process and that is why many authors consider this parameter.
The effect of pH on adsorption by various sawdust materials can be
explained on the basis of the point of zero charge pHpzc , at which the
1459
Fig. 1. Effect of pH on dye removal.
adsorbent is neutral. The surface charge of the adsorbent is positive
when the media pH is below the pHpzc value, while it is negative at
a pH over the pHpzc [6].
Batzias and Sidiras [8] determined the pHpzc for beech sawdust
by two methods and found it to be 5.2 ± 0.2 and 5.6 ± 0.4. For the
beech sawdust investigated in the present paper a suspension of
0.1 g adsorbent in 50 mL double distilled water has a pH of 3.9
at equilibrium, after 24 h. These characteristics of the adsorbent
could explain the high retention capacity at pH 3. The excess of
H+ increases the positive charge of the surface of adsorbent par-
ticles and favours the electrostatic attraction of the dye anions.
In the range of pH from 8 to 13 slightly increases the amount
of dye adsorbed and a slight decrease of 0.3–0.5 pH units was
observed.
The adsorption of Basic Blue 86 is partially based on the same
mechanism. As the pH of the system increases the number of neg-
atively charged adsorbed sites increases and favour the adsorption
of the dye cations by electrostatic attraction. For this dye it was
observed a favourable effect for pH 4.43–7.06 and a decrease of its
adsorption in basic media (Fig. 1).
In the case of methylene blue in the range of pH from 8 to 13
slightly increases the amount of dye adsorbed and a slight decrease
of 0.3–0.5 pH units [8]. The different behaviour compared to the
methylene blue could be explained by the use of a textile dye that
is a commercial product of which components might influence this
process. The optimum pH value for the adsorption of methylene
blue was observed at pH 7 for cedar sawdust and a decrease for
pH > 7, but the sorbent is different [16].
3.3. The influence of the contact time and initial dye
concentration
The initial concentration of dyes was varied from 330 to
900 mg L−1 for Direct Brown, from 320 to 600 mg L−1 for Direct
Brown 2 and from 100 to 400 mg L−1 for Basic Blue 86. The graph-
ical representation of the dependence of the retained amount of
dye versus time is given by single and continuous curves, which
proves the formation of a monolayer at the external surface of the
sorbent (Fig. 2). For Direct Brown the equilibrium is attained in
120–180 min depending on the investigated concentrations. In the
case of Direct Brown 2 and Basic Blue 86 the equilibrium is reached
in 180–300 min.
1460 V. Dulman, S.M. Cucu-Man / Journal of Hazardous Materials 162 (2009) 1457–1464

3.4.1. Pseudo-first-order model

The linear form of Lagergren equation is
k1
lg(qe − qt ) = lg qe − t (1)
2.303
where qe is the amount of dye adsorbed at equilibrium (mg g−1 ),
qt is the amount of dye adsorbed at time t (mg g−1 ) and k1 is the
equilibrium rate constant of pseudo-first-order sorption (min−1 ).
The k1 values for the investigated dyes were calculated from
the slopes of the linear plots obtained by graphical representa-
tion of lg(qe − qt ) against t (Fig. 3) and are presented in Table 2.
Maximum k1 values were obtained for the smaller concentra-
tions of dyes: for Direct Brown 330 mg L−1 0.0463 min−1 , for Direct

Fig. 2. Effect of agitation time and dye concentration on removal of dyes by beech
wood sawdust.

For all three dyes the sorption is very fast initially. It was
observed that depending on concentration approximately 90%
Direct Brown, 72–52% Direct Brown 2 and 92–57% Basic Blue 86
is retained after 15 min time of contact with the sorbent.

3.4. Adsorption dynamics

The rate constant for the adsorption of dyes on beech wood saw-
dust was obtained using the equations of pseudo-first-order system
(Lagergren) and pseudo-second-order system (Ho). The intraparti-
cle diffusion was also considered. A detailed approach of these
models for acid and basic dyes is given in many papers and among
them could be mentioned those of Ho and McKay [27], Ho and
Chiang [28] and Shiau and Pan [29]. Fig. 3. Lagergreen plots for the sorption of dyes by beech wood sawdust.
 V. Dulman, S.M. Cucu-Man / Journal of Hazardous Materials 162 (2009) 1457–1464 1461

Table 2
Kinetic parameters for the effect of initial concentration for the investigated dyes

Dye c0 (mg L−1 ) qe,experimental First order Second order Intraparticle diffusion
(mg g−1 )
qe,calculated k1 (min−1 ) R2 qe,calculated k2 (g mg−1 min−1 ) h (mg g−1 min−1 ) R2 ki (mg g−1 min−1/2 )
(mg g−1 ) (mg g−1 )

330 155.6 5.58 0.0463 0.9999 156.3 0.02276 556 1 0.2701

600 288.3 6.03 0.0422 0.9865 285.7 0.02042 1667 1 0.3249
Direct Brown
800 379.2 10.99 0.0203 0.9963 384.6 0.00483 714 1 0.8737
900 417 19.45 0.0217 0.9969 416.7 0.00303 526 1 1.5158

320 154.3 52.74 0.0268 0.9852 158.7 0.00109 27 0.9999 1.6383

400 187.8 82.17 0.0181 0.9949 196.1 0.00046 18 0.9996 2.2102
Direct Brown 2
480 225.0 104.14 0.0125 0.9362 238.1 0.00025 14 0.9968 4.8367
600 278.6 166.27 0.0151 0.9200 294.1 0.00017 15 0.9935 9.5401

100 47.7 2.49 0.0522 0.9835 47.9 0.05980 137 1 0.1018

200 92.9 7.71 0.0235 0.9882 93.5 0.00786 69 1 0.2479
Basic Blue 86
300 120.9 8.49 0.0156 0.8509 121.9 0.00529 79 0.9999 0.4922
400 129.5 18.92 0.0195 0.9801 131.6 0.00267 46 0.9999 0.7900

Brown 2 320 mg L−1 0.0268 min−1 and for Basic Blue 86 100 mg L−1
0.0522 min−1 . For all three dyes there is a great disagreement
between experimental and calculated values of concentration at
equilibrium.

3.4.2. Pseudo-second-order model

The pseudo-second-order model [27] describes the adsorption
kinetics on the basis of the following differential equation
dqt
= k2 (qe − qt )2 (2)
dt
where k2 is the rate constant of pseudo-second order
(g mg−1 min−1 ).
The integration of Eq. (2) for the boundary condition qt = 0 at
t = 0 gives:
1 1
= + k2 t (3)
qe − qt qe
The linear form of Eq. (3) is
t 1 1
= + t (4)
qt k2 q2e qe
The linear plot of t/qt versus t (Fig. 4) allows the calculation of
k2 , qe values and the correlation coefficient R2 (Table 2).
Fig. 3 shows that the experimental data follow the linear rela-
tionship of pseudo-second-order adsorption model reasonably
well. By comparing the experimental equilibrium concentrations
with those calculated (qe ), a good agreement can be observed. The
regression coefficients for the linear plots were higher than 0.99 for
all dyes.
As time approaches zero, according to pseudo-second-order
model, the initial adsorption rate h (mg g−1 min−1 ) is

h = k2 q2e (5)

The obtained h values are presented in Table 2.

3.4.3. Intraparticle diffusion

The intraparticle diffusion model is based on the following equa-
tion for the rate constant:

qt = ki t 1/2 (6)

where ki is the intraparticle diffusion rate constant

(mg g−1 min−1/2 ).
If the rate-limiting step is the intraparticle diffusion, the graph-
ical representation of the adsorbed dye (mg g−1 ) depending on
the square root of the contact time (t1/2 ) should present a linear
part which passes through the origin [30]. The experimental curves Fig. 4. Ho plots for the sorption of dyes by beech wood sawdust.
1462 V. Dulman, S.M. Cucu-Man / Journal of Hazardous Materials 162 (2009) 1457–1464

present linear domains for each concentration but can be observed

they do not pass through the origin, so the intraparticle diffusion is
not the only rate controlling step (Fig. 5).
The values of the rate constants for the intraparticle diffusion
(ki ) are presented in Table 2, being calculated from the slopes of
the linear portions of the curve q = f(t1/2 ).
The shapes of the obtained curves are similar with those dis-
cussed by Shiau and Pan [29] for the adsorption of some basic dyes
on different sorbents. There can be distinguished three stages for
the adsorption of dyes. The first stage is an instantaneous adsorp-
tion, corresponds to more than 80% adsorption and is probably due
to a strong electrostatic attraction between dye and the external
surface of adsorbent.
The second stage is a gradual adsorption stage, which can be
attributed to intraparticle diffusion of dye molecules through the
pores of adsorbent. The ki values were calculated based on the data
corresponding to this stage (Table 2).
The final stage corresponds to the equilibrium adsorption when
dye molecules occupy all active sites of the adsorbent.

3.5. Adsorption isotherms

3.5.1. Langmuir isotherm

The equilibrium data obtained for various concentrations of dyes
have been analysed on the basis of Langmuir isotherm, expressed
as
qm bce
qe = (7)
1 + bce

where ce is the equilibrium concentration of the dye in solution

(mg L−1 ), qe is the amount of the adsorbed dye at equilibrium
(mg g−1 ), qm is the maximum amount of the dye adsorbed (mg g−1 )
corresponding to monolayers coverage and b is a constant related
to energy of adsorption (L mg−1 ).
One of the linear forms of Eq. (7) is

1 1 1
= + (8)
qe bqm ce qm

The value of b and qm were calculated from the ratio inter-

cept/slope and 1/intercept, respectively, of the straight-line plots
of 1/qe versus 1/ce .
The adsorption equilibrium constant KL (L g−1 ) is dependent on
b and qm and could be calculated based on the relation:
Fig. 5. Amount of dye adsorbed (mg dye g−1 adsorbent) vs. t1/2 for the intraparticle
KL = qm b (9) diffusion of dyes by beech wood sawdust.

The essential characteristics of Langmuir isotherms may be

expressed by a dimensionless constant, named parameter of equi-

Table 3
Analysis of Langmuir isotherms

Dye Concentration (mg L−1 ) RL qm (mg g−1 ) b (L mg−1 ) KL (L g−1 ) R2

330 0.051 526.3 0.05588 29.41 0.9913

600 0.029
Direct Brown
800 0.022
900 0.019

320 0.066 416.7 0.04419 18.41 0.9918

400 0.054
Direct Brown 2
480 0.045
600 0.036

100 0.129 136.9 0.06753 9.25 0.9982

200 0.069
Basic Blue 86
300 0.047
400 0.036
 V. Dulman, S.M. Cucu-Man / Journal of Hazardous Materials 162 (2009) 1457–1464
Fig. 6. Langmuir plots for the sorption of dyes by beech wood sawdust.
librium or separation factor [13,31]:
1 [3] G. Crini, Non-conventional low-cost adsorbents for dye removal: a review,
RL =
1 + bc0
where c0 is the initial concentration of dye (mg L−1 ).
Values of RL between 0 and 1 (Table 3) show a favourable adsorp-
tion. Batzias and Sidiras [9] found RL values to be close to zero for
two basic dyes, methylene blue and basic blue, adsorbed on treated
beech sawdust. For untreated sawdust the authors have obtained
higher values of RL .
The data for the adsorption of dyes on sawdust are presented in
Fig. 6. The constants obtained by regression analysis conform well
to Langmuir equation with good correlation coefficients varying
from 0.9913 to 0.9982 (Table 3). This good agreement shows the
homogeneity of the adsorbent surface.
The Langmuir analysis for comparing the adsorption of the three
investigated dyes on the same adsorbent shows the greatest mono-
layer capacity of 526.3 mg g−1 for Direct Brown and the following
order of preference: Direct Brown > Direct Brown 2 > Basic Blue 86.
The comparison of Langmuir isotherm constants for similar dyes
indicates that beech wood sawdust is an effective adsorbent for the
investigated dyes compared to other non-conventional sorbents
[32–35].
3.5.2. Freundlich isotherm
Analyses of the experimental data set show that Freundlich
model is not appropriate for the prediction of the isothermal pro-
files for the sorption of the investigated dyes on beech sawdust.
4. Conclusions
The beech wood sawdust can be considered an efficient non-
conventional adsorbent for removal of three commercial dyes:
Direct Brown, Direct Brown 2 and Basic Blue 86, from six dyes
tested.
The extent of dye removal decreases with the increasing of the
solution pH for Direct Brown and Direct Brown 2. For these two
dyes the optimum pH was of 3.0 and for the cationic dye Basic Blue
86 of 4.43–7.07.
The kinetics of adsorption for the three commercial dyes on
beech sawdust follows the pseudo-second-order rate expression.
It has been also concluded that the intraparticle diffusion is not the
only rate-controlling step.
The experimental data were well correlated by the Langmuir
adsorption isotherm. The parameters that characterize the sorption
were determined. The obtained values indicate favourable adsorp-
tion for the tested dyes on beech wood sawdust. The preference for
1463
dyes decreases as follows: Direct Brown > Direct Brown 2 > Basic
Blue 86.
The maximum retention capacity is 526.3 mg g−1 for the textile
dye Direct Brown (with a content of ∼60% pure dye).
Together with other studies on the beech wood sawdust the
results of the present study encourage us to consider that this nat-
ural material, of low cost and available in large quantities, could be
a convenient sorbent for removal of dyes from textile wastewaters.
Acknowledgement
Financial support for the present work was obtained from 1469
CNCSIS Project.
References
[1] C. Hessel, C. Allegre, M. Maisseu, F. Charbit, P. Moulin, Guidelines and legislation
for dye house effluents, J. Environ. Manage. 83 (2007) 171–180.
[2] S. Nawar, H. Doma, Removal of dyes from effluents using low-cost agricultural
by-products, Sci. Total Environ. 79 (1989) 271–279.
(10) Bioresource Technol. 97 (2006) 1061–1085.
[4] E. Forgacs, T. Cserháti, G. Oros, Removal of synthetic dyes from wastewaters: a
review, Environ. Int. 30 (2004) 953–971.
[5] C.I. Pearce, J.R. Lloyd, J.T. Guthri, The removal of colour from textile wastewater
using whole bacterial cells: a review, Dyes Pigments 58 (2003) 179–196.
[6] A. Shukla, Y.H. Zhang, P. Dubey, J.L. Margrave, S. Shyam, The role of sawdust
in the removal of unwanted materials from water, J. Hazard. Mater. 95 (2002)
137–152.
[7] F.A. Batzias, D.K. Sidiras, Dye adsorption by calcium chloride treated beech
sawdust in batch and fixed-bed systems, J. Hazard. Mater. 114 (2004) 167–174.
[8] F.A. Batzias, D.K. Sidiras, Simulation of dye adsorption by beech sawdust as
affected by pH, J. Hazard. Mater. 141 (2007) 668–679.
[9] F.A. Batzias, D.K. Sidiras, Simulation of methylene blue adsorption by salts-
treated beech sawdust in batch and fixed-bed systems, J. Hazard. Mater. 149
(2007) 8–17.
[10] F.A. Batzias, D.K. Sidiras, Dye adsorption by prehydrolysed beech sawdust in
batch and fixed-bed systems, Bioresource Technol. 98 (2007) 1208–1217.
[11] V. Dulman, S. Cucu-Man, V.I. Popa, R. Mureşan, Adsorption properties of beech
wood sawdust related to some textile dyes, Anal. Şt. Univ. “Al. I. Cuza” Iaşi VIII
(2000) 245–252.
[12] V.K. Kumar, S. Sivanesan, Isotherms for Malachite Green onto rubber wood
(Hevea brasiliensis) sawdust: comparison of linear and non-linear methods,
Dyes Pigments 72 (2007) 124–129.
[13] F. Ferrero, Dye removal by low cost adsorbents: hazelnut shells in comparison
with wood sawdust, J. Hazard. Mater. 142 (2007) 144–152.
[14] M. Özacar, I.A. Şengil, Adsorption of metal complex dyes from aqueous solutions
by pine sawdust, Bioresource Technol. 96 (2005) 791–795.
[15] M. Özacar, I.A. Şengil, A kinetic study of metal complex dye sorption onto pine
sawdust, Process Biochem. 40 (2005) 565–572.
[16] O. Hamdaoui, Batch study of liquid-phase adsorption of methylene blue using
cedar sawdust and crushed brick, J. Hazard. Mater. 135 (2006) 264–273.
[17] N. Yeddou, A. Bensmaili, Kinetic models for the sorption of dye from aqueous
solution by clay–wood sawdust mixture, Desalination 185 (2005) 499–508.
[18] V.K. Garg, M. Amita, R. Kumar, R. Gupta, Basic dye (methylene blue) removal
from simulated wastewater by adsorption using Indian rosewood sawdust: a
timber industry waste, Dyes Pigments 63 (2004) 243–250.
[19] S. Chakraborty, S. De, J.K. Basu, S. DasGupta, Treatment of a textile effluent:
application of a combination method involving adsorption and nanofiltration,
Desalination 174 (2005) 73–85.
[20] I. Safarik, M. Safarikova, F. Weyda, E. Mosiniewicz-Szablewska, A. Slawska-
Waniewska, Ferrofluid-modified plant-based materials as adsorbents for batch
separation of selected biologically active compounds and xenobiotics, J. Magn.
Magn. Mater. 293 (2005) 371–376.
[21] V. Dulman, S. Cucu-Man, V.I. Popa, Sorption of some textile dyes by oak wood
sawdust, Cell. Chem. Technol. 36 (2002) 515–525.
[22] V.G. Petrovici, V.I. Popa, The Chemistry and the Chemical Processing of Wood,
vol. II, Lux Libris, Brasov, 1997 (in Romanian).
[23] Y.A. Laszlo, Removing acid dyes from textile wastewater using biomass for
decolorization, Am. Dyest. Rep. 83 (1994) 17–20.
[24] I. Šimkovic, Preparation of anion exchangers from beech sawdust and wheat
straw, Ind. Crop. Prod. 10 (1999) 167–173.
[25] F.N. Acar, E. Malkoc, The removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions by
Fagus orientalis L., Bioresource Technol. 94 (2004) 13–15.
[26] C. Namasivayam, D. Prabha, M. Kumutha, Removal of direct red and acid brilliant
blue by adsorption on to banana pith, Bioresource Technol. 64 (1998) 77–79.
[27] Y.S. Ho, G. McKay, Sorption of dye from aqueous solution by peat, Chem. Eng. J.
70 (1998) 115–124.
[28] Y.S. Ho, C.C. Chiang, Sorption studies of acid dyes by mixed sorbents, Adsorption
7 (2001) 139–147.
1464 V. Dulman, S.M. Cucu-Man / Journal of Hazardous Materials 162 (2009) 1457–1464
[29] C.Y. Shiau, C.C. Pan, Adsorption of Basic Dyes from aqueous solution by various
adsorbents, Sep. Sci. Technol. 39 (2004) 1733–1750.
[30] C. Namasivayam, N. Kanchana, Waste banana pith as adsorbent for color
removal from wastewaters, Chemosphere 25 (1992) 1691–1705.
[31] C. McKay, H.S. Blair, J.R. Gardner, Adsorption of dyes on chitin. I. Equilibrium
studies, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 27 (1982) 3043–3057.
[32] N. Kannan, M.M. Sundaram, Kinetics and mechanism of removal of methylene
blue by adsorption on various carbons—a comparative study, Dyes Pigments 51
(2001) 25–40.
[33] M.M. Nassar, Y.H. Magdy, Removal of different basic dyes from aqueous solu-
tions by adsorption on palm-fruit bunch particles, Chem. Eng. J. 67 (1997)
223–226.
[34] V. Vadivelan, V.K. Kumar, Equilibrium, kinetics, mechanism, and process design
for the sorption of methylene blue onto rice husk, J. Colloid Interf. Sci. 286
(2005) 90–100.
[35] G. McKay, G. Ramprasad, P. Mowli, Desorption and regeneration of dye colours
from low-cost materials, Water Res. 21 (1987) 375–377.