UTILIZAÇÃO DE RESÍDUOS DA FRUTICULTURA DE BANANA COMO ADSORVENTE: UMA ALTERNATIVA PARA O TRATAMENTO DE CORANTES

Abstract

Congo red has a resistance to natural degradation, resulting in its permanence in the environment and harmful impacts on the environment. Thus, the objective of this work is to evaluate the use of waste from banana fruit growing as an adsorbent in its removal. The stem and navel of the banana tree were used. The materials were dried, crushed and sieved. Filters were built from filter candles containing: activated carbon, stem, navel and one without substrate. A solution of distilled water and Congo red at a concentration of 1 g L^-1 was prepared for the tests. During filtering, samples were taken and analyzed in a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 495 nm. An initial efficiency of 95% was observed for the filter containing the stem, and within a period of 360 min, the filter still had greater than 60% efficiency. The filter containing the umbilicus was disregarded due to flow. In the desorption test there was a recovery of 20% in the stem filter, where it reached 84.40% efficiency after 80 min of testing. The use of banana residues as an alternative adsorbent proved to be promising since it presented good flow and adsorptive capacity in relation to Congo red.