Prunus mahaleb shell as a sustainable bioresource for carminic acid removal from aqueous solution: Experimental and theoretical studies

This study focused on the performance of Prunus mahaleb shell (MS) agricultural waste, which is used as an alternative biosorbent for carminic acid (CA) removal from aqueous solution. The effects of different parameters such as pH, initial dye concentration, contact time, biosorbent dosage and temperature on the biosorption of CA dye to the MS biosorbent surface were investigated. The characterization of the biosorbent was done by FT-IR, SEM-EDX and pzc analyses. It was determined that the isotherm and kinetics of CA dye removal were consistent with the Langmuir isotherm and PSO and IPD kinetic models, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity was calculated as 148 mg g−1 according to the Langmuir isotherm. According to the H0, G0 and S0 results, the biosorption was found to be endothermic and spontaneous. Based on these data, it is concluded that environmentally friendly, inexpensive, simple to use and effective MS biosorbent can be used for CA dye removal.