A Novel Approach to Utilize Used Disposable Paper Cups for the Development of Adsorbent and its Application for the Malachite Green and Rhodamine-B Dyes Removal from Aqueous Solutions Kshipra Shukla, Alka Verma, Lata Verma, Shalu Rawat and Jiwan Singh† Department of Environmental Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow-226025, India †Corresponding author: Jiwan Singh ABSTRACT This study focuses on the removal of organic dyes, such as Malachite Green (MG) and Rhodamine-B (Rh-B) from an aqueous solution with the help of a novel adsorbent (activated carbon) with magnetic property prepared by used disposal paper cups (AC@PC) at 500°C. The synthesized AC@PC adsorbent was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and point of zero charge (pHZPC). Adsorption of MG and Rh-B onto the AC@PC adsorbent from aqueous solution was investigated systematically. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms were also studied, however, it has been observed that Langmuir isotherm model was best ftted for both the dyes, which describe the adsorption behaviour at equilibrium. Pseudo-frst and pseudo-second order kinetic model describe the rate of adsorption. Kinetic study explained that the process of adsorption followed the pseudo-second order model. Thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy (ΔH°), entropy (ΔS°) and Gibb’s free energy (ΔG°) were also studied and revealed that the adsorption of MG was endothermic, whereas adsorption of Rh-B was exothermic onto the AC@PC. The prepared adsorbent shows potentially high adsorption properties for both the dyes. INTRODUCTION India is facing very serious problem of solid waste disposal. The waste contributes to landfills and are post-consumer products that means those substances which cannot be recycled or reused any longer (Arumugam et al. 2015). Paper cup waste disposal is a major issue in terms of environment as it is mainly composed of paper with high strength that can be easily recycled but the inner layer is lined with thin film of polyethylene and make paper cups recycling very complicated (Arumugam et al. 2018). These disposable cups are widely used all over the world for serving tea, coffee, soft-drinks and for many other purposes. Generation of municipal solid waste in India is approximately 1,88,550 tonnes per day of which 35% by weight constitutes post- consumer waste that causes serious problems to the society and environment (Arumugam et al. 2018). Post-consumer waste can be elaborated as the waste generated by the end consumer (Arena et al. 2016). In India solid waste management is a very big task for the generated waste. The paper waste can be very effective for removal of pollutants from water when it converted into an adsorbent. Utilization of paper cup waste for the adsorption purpose can reduce the problem of disposable of paper cup waste. The discharge of water from the industries may hold pollutants such as dyes, heavy metals into the aqueous solution that disrupt the ecosystem of aquatic animals and plants and also causes various health problems in human beings. Several industries, for example, cosmetics, plastics, textile, processing, rubber etc. uses different classes of dyes (Kono 2015). Dyes are growing to be a very challenging class of pollutants to the environment causing many health hazards (Ngulube et al. 2017). Dyes are mainly the chemical compounds or complex organic molecules that imparts colour to the surface or fabric when comes in contact (Yagub et al. 2014). Many industries discharge effluent into water bodies containing highly coloured species with large amount of toxic substances that not only cause health related problems but also degrade the aesthetic values of water bodies (Kant 2012). About 10,000 dyes produced yearly of which 7.105 metric tons are available in market. Around 15% of dye materials are misplaced in effluent discharged from various manufacturing and processing operations in industrial activities (Gupta et al. 2012). The dye effluent from industries contain certain chemicals that could be lethal, carcinogenic or mutagenic to living organisms (Noel & Rajan 2014). Synthetic dyes are highly soluble in water and are the common pollutants that Nat. Env. & Poll. Tech. Website: www.neptjournal.com Received: 12-06-2019 Accepted: 23-07-2019 Key Words: Malachite Green Rhodamine-B Adsorption AC@PC adsorbent 2020 pp. 57-70 Vol. 19 p-ISSN: 0972-6268 No. 1 Nature Environment and Pollution Technology An International Quarterly Scientifc Journal Original Research Paper e-ISSN: 2395-3454 Open Access