Application of response surface methodology based on central composite design for optimization of yellow bezacryl sorption on shoe soles waste.

In this study, an innovative sorbent that is obtained by shoe soles waste was proposed. This low‐cost sorbent was tested for the removal of yellow Bezacryl (YB) from aqueous solutions in batch reactor. The central composite design (CCD) technique and the response surface methodology (RSM) were both applied to study the effect of operating parameters, namely initial YB concentration (Z1), shoe soles waste sorbent dosage (Z2), and pH of the medium (Z3); and determine their optimum giving the highest YB sorption yield. The experimental factors levels studied were respectively 10 ≤ [YB]0 ≤ 50 (mg/L), 0.1 ≤ [sorbent] ≤ 1 (g/250 mL), and 2 ≤ pH ≤ 10. The model equation for YB sorption yield was developed using Microsoft EXCEL Software and the predicted values were found to be in good agreement with experimental values (R2 = 0.996). The experimental results and statistical analysis show that all operating parameters influence individually and interactively the sorption yields response. The optimum conditions for maximizing sorption yield were calculated as [YB]0 = 30 mg/L, [sorbent]0 = 0.1 g/250 mL, and pH 6, respectively. In addition to this, the sorption process studied is best described by the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model. Langmuir sorption isotherm gave a satisfactory fit of the equilibrium data. The maximum sorption capacity is 130 mg YB/g shoe soles waste. Results from this study suggest that shoe soles waste is an effective sorbent for the removal of YB from aqueous solutions. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38: S412–S421, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]