Comparision of pure membranes of 13X and 5A zeolite for removal of acridine orange dye from aqueous solutions

This work has been performed to test pure membranes of two zeolites as effective adsorbents for the removal of the cationic dye acridine orange (AO) from aqueous solution. The membranes were made through fast and easy method without additional reagents. Membrane made by 5A and 13X zeolites were called m-5A and m-13X, respectively. Adsorption of AO was studied in a batch system in conjunction with UV-visible analyses to determine de efficiency of m-13X and m-5A. Both membranes exhibited good adsorption performance. The influence of contact time on the amount of dye adsorbed onto membranes was investigated, showing high reduction in the first hours of contact. The adsorption efficiency after 18h was 85 % for m-13X, and 55% for m-5A. The kinetics of adsorption showed good agreement with the pseudo-second order model, giving an adsorbed amount of 1,73 and 2,36 mg/g for m-5A and m-13X, respectively. This study shows that m-13X is a more effective adsorbent than m-5A for removal of AO from aqueous solutions.