EVALUATION OF LIQUORICE GLYCYRRHIZA GLABRA L. ROOT POWDER AS A NEW ADSORBENT IN THE REMOVAL OF TEXTILE DYES IN AQUEOUS MEDIUM

The liquorice Glycyrrhizaglabra L. root powder (GGRP) was evaluated to remove the two textile dyes in water. The physical-chemical analyzes using the scanning electron microscope and infrared spectroscopy showed that this material has irregular surface and chemical groups capable of retaining chemical pollutants in aqueous medium. In addition, our results demonstrated that it was possible to obtain a satisfactory adsorption percentage of the indigo blue (IB) and congo red dye (CR) when used 2.0 g of GGRP and stirring time at 5 minutes. The maximum adsorption capacity for IB (1.696 mg.g-1) and CR (0.768 mg.g-1) obtained through the Langmuir Mathematical Model suggest GGRP as an possible adsorbent for removal both textile dyes. This conclusion could be sustained through bacth column experiments where GGRP powder was more efficient than activated carbon (13.5  2.1 % for IB and 16.9  3.2% for CR) in the removal of IB (98.2  1.2 %) and CR (82.1  3.5%). Finally, this work provided a new alternative for the use of GGRP an environmental decontaminant and not only for medicinal use.