Taguchi L16 (44) Orthogonal Array Design for Adsorptive Optimization of Rhodamine B, Methyl Orange and Acid Yellow 17 Dyes onto MgFe2O4/C Composite.

Water contamination caused by textile dyes can affect human health, calling for effective treatment method. Here, we report the preparation of MgFe2O4/C composite through hydrothermal method to adsorb three dyes including rhodamine B, methyl orange (MO) and acid yellow 17 (AY) in water. MgFe2O4/C obtained a surface area of 692.32 m2/g and MgFe2O4 particles were well-dispersed on porous carbon matrix. Taguchi experimental design (L16) was conducted to test the effect of four factors, including initial concentration, adsorbent dosage, contact time and pH at different four levels. pH was a first-ranked factor for adsorption of all three dyes with the highest contribution between 33.20 and 55.61%. The highest capacity (158.12 mg/g) was determined for MO dye adsorption under a concentration of 40 mg/L, pH 3, a dose of 0.05 g/L, and a duration of 240 min. The experiments of MgFe2O4/C reusability were performed, reaching at least fourth cycles offering potential for reuse. It is recommended that Taguchi orthogonal array design can be well adopted to reach the best condition of organic dyes adsorption by MgFe2O4/C composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]