CRUSTACEAN CHEMISTRY: UTILIZING CHITOSAN FROM SHRIMP SKIN IN THE BATTLE AGAINST METHYL ORANGE CONTAMINATION

Abstract

The rapid growth and development of the textile industry have led to an alarming increase in waste generation, posing significant environmental challenges. Uncontrolled discharge of industrial waste into water bodies has resulted in widespread pollution, threatening the delicate balance of nature. To combat dye contamination and its detrimental effects on the environment, adsorption has emerged as a promising solution. Activated charcoal, traditionally used for adsorption, has become expensive due to high demand in various industries. Consequently, researchers are now focusing on exploring cost-effective adsorbents derived from waste materials. In this study, chitosan extracted from shrimp shells was employed as an adsorbent, and the target adsorb ate was methyl orange, an azo dye extensively used in the textile industry.

Chitosan, known for its versatile properties, has found applications in various fields, including hydrogels, wound dressing, biomaterials, cosmetics, and wastewater treatment. Its potential as an adsorbent has been widely recognized, attributed to its large surface area, pore diameters, and existing functional groups. The utilization of alternative natural sources for adsorbents has been explored, such as crab shells, fly ash, water hyacinth root, molasses, and alginate. In this research, the focus was on the shrimp shell, a commonly discarded waste from culinary restaurants, with potential applications as a chitosan raw material for biosorption. Previous studies have shown the efficacy of shrimp shell-based chitosan in removing heavy metals and organic waste from the environment. The present study investigates the adsorption mechanism of methyl orange using chitosan adsorbents, utilizing the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Furthermore, the rate constants of adsorption kinetics were determined using the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. The results revealed the suitability of chitosan-based adsorbents for effective methyl orange removal. The Langmuir and Freundlich models provided valuable insights into the adsorption process, and the pseudo-second-order model exhibited favorable kinetics. This research contributes to the development of sustainable and cost-efficient adsorbents for mitigating dye pollution in the textile industry, thereby promoting environmental preservation