Recycled wool-based nonwoven material for sorption of acid dyes

Abstract

The possibility of using a nonwoven material based on recycled wool for sorption of acid dyes from wastewater has been studied. To improve its sorption properties, the recycled wool-based nonwoven material was treated with low temperature air plasma and/or biopolymer chitosan. These treatments introduced new favourable functional groups and increased the active surface area. Sorption capacity, sorption kinetics as well as the influence of electrochemical properties of fibre, initial dye concentration, pH and temperature on the sorption have been studied. It is observed that the nonwoven recycled wool-based material can be used as an efficient sorbent for removal of acid dyes. Chitosan and plasma+chitosan treatments of the material remarkably improved the sorption properties for AR88 and AR27 dyes, likely because of the increase in amino groups originating from chitosan that are the main sites for binding of dye anions. However, no significant positive effect of low-temperature plasma and/or chitosan treatment of material on sorption of AB 113 dye was observed.