Insitu- Remediation of Dye Contaminated Soil using Eco-friendly Adsorbents (Moringa Oleifera Extract, Nanoclay) and Carbon Nanotubes Immobilized Alginate Beads

Abstract

Due to expansion of industrial activities and increased population growth, the environment degradation is intensified as visually seen by the deterioration of land and water ecosystem.  It is reported that 2,500 textile weaving factories and 4,135 textile finishing factories are functioning in India. Out of 60% of total dye production for various applications, 10–15% of unspent dyes are let out into land and water bodies that makes them polluted with a concentration range 10–200 ppm. The health of the soil plays a vital role in the growth of the plants and to maintain the ecosystem. It indirectly sustains the natural condition of the environment. The soil health can be explained as the capacity of the soil to function as a living system, considering it contains biological elements that are key to the functioning of the ecosystem. The soil contamination has been tremendously accelerated due to anthropogenic activities and rapid industrialization The growth of the plant is directly affected by osmotic stress which is caused by the presence of high level of NaCl and other salts. The direct release of the textile effluent on to the soil will also affect the ground water quality with bad taste and color. As well as the agricultural soil quality, with decrease in productivity and yield. Hence there is a clear need for an effective treatment process or technology for cleaning the dye contaminated soil. In this study we use the bio-polymer, Alginate for the removal of dye from the soil. It was observed from the results that the Moringa extract entrapped alginate beads has the highest dye removal of 69.7 % in sandy soil. It was also shown that the Moringa extract alginate beads has a low dye withholding capacity.