Removal of Victoria Blue Dye from Aqueous Solution by Activated Carbon: Thermodynamic Study

Activated carbon (AC) is extensively known as an excellent adsorbent, suitable for contaminants removal from fluids (dyes, components of VOCs, heavy metals…), and numerous precursors have been deployed for its synthesis. In the current research, we used apricot stones due to their plenitude. The purpose of this work is to conduct the thermodynamic study of the adsorption of Victoria Blue dye by activated carbon (AC) synthesized from apricot stones. Therefore, we examined the influence of the stirring speed (300–600 rpm), the adsorbent mass (0.5–2 g), and the temperature (30–60 °C) to identify the optimal conditions for reaching maximum adsorption. The findings indicated that the optimal conditions were: a mass equal to 2 g, a temperature of 30 °C, a stirring speed of 600 rpm, and the adsorption process was exothermic (ΔH° < 0).