Abstract
Biosorbents were prepared by lyophilizing chitosan-added watermelon pulp (AC-WPC). The prepared biosorbents were characterized by BET, SEM, Zeta Potential and FT-IR analysis. Accordingly, BET surface areas of AC-WPC was 120.92 m2/g, respectively. SEM analysis showed that the structures were porous and the results were consistent with the BET analysis. FT-IR analysis confirmed the chemical structures. The isoelectric points of the biosorbents were determined by zeta potential analysis. The AC-WPC biosorbent demonstrated 86% cell viability with cytotoxicity testing. For this reason, it was determined that the AC-WPC produced does not cause any serious damage to the cell. A study was carried out on the removal of Congo red textile dye in wastewater by the prepared biosorbents. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were studied in adsorption studies and Freundlich isotherm was found to be compatible. Pseudo First and Second kinetic models were also studied. The highest adsorption capacity was observed at 100 mg/l Congo red concentration with 98.02% removal and 490.1 mg/g adsorption capacity with AC-WPC. It is thought that these results will potentially contribute to the literature on the removal of textile dyes or other pollutants using chitosan-added watermelon pulp.