Waste Bricks Applied as Removal Agent of Basic Blue 41 from Aqueous Solutions: Base Treatment and Their Regeneration Efficiency

Waste brick materials were applied as removal materials of basic blue 41 (BB-41) from artificially contaminated water. They were characterized by different techniques prior their use. A series of removal tests were carried out at different conditions, such as a dosage effect, pH value, initial concentrations, and chemical treatment. The removal results indicated that the two untreated waste bricks had limited removal capacities of basic blue 41, ranging from 19 to 30 mg/g. However, these values were improved upon treatment with NaOH solution or by increasing the removal temperature. Waste brick collected from the Medina area (Med-WB) exhibited higher removal capacity compared to the one collected from the Jeddah area (Jed-WB), with a maximum removal capacity of 60 mg/g at 60 °C. The pH of the BB-41 solution also played an important factor, as it improved the removal amounts from 25 mg/g to 45 mg/g at initial concentration of 200 mg/L. The regenerative process was studied using oxidative reaction of the removed basic blue 41 with a solution of oxone and cobalt nitrate. The efficiency was maintained after 5 runs for Med-WB, with a slight variation of 25%, while it felt to 50% for Jed-WB material after three runs. These data indicate that the waste brick materials present as potential candidates for the dye removal and their origin has to be identified.