Publication

Abstract : Water pollution is a great threat to humanity nowadays. Scientists are searching for new natural materials that can act as absorbents to remove non-biodegradable pollutants. Dye waste from textile, paint and leather industries are a great danger to aquatic system. Nowadays activated charcoal is widely used for this purpose, but the high cost impose some limitations to its wide use. Cellulose acetate was synthesized from a waste material, used cigarette bud, by acid treatment method. The sample obtained was characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Cellulose acetate membranes were prepared and utilized for dye absorption studies using UV-visible spectroscopy and colorimeter using pH controlled solutions of methylene blue and malachite green.