Natural zeolite activation using chloride acid (HCl) for methylene blue adsorbent

Abstract

Dye waste produced from the textile industry is an organic compound that is difficult to decompose, dangerous, and can pollute the aquatic environment. On the other hand, the textile industry has also had a major impact on 20% of global wastewater pollution. One of the wastes generated is methylene blue. As a step in overcoming these problems, an effective and economical waste treatment method is needed, such as the adsorption method. This research was conducted by utilizing natural zeolite clinoptilolite type as an adsorbent for methylene blue using hydrochloric acid (HCl) through two processes, namely zeolite activation and adsorption of methylene blue waste by varying the adsorption time. The result shows that the activated zeolite can adsorb methylene blue in solution. The activation process strongly determined the capability of zeolite to adsorb the methylene blue. From our research, we obtained zeolite activated with 0.1 M HCl has the highest capability as methylene blue adsorption.