Adsorption of Malachite Green and Congo Red Dyes from Water: Recent Progress and Future Outlook

Global concern on dyes-laden effluent has intensified over the years. Dyes are toxic, stable to light, and hardly oxidized and bio-degraded, hence causing severe physiological effects to living organisms. In water, dye hinders the light penetration for photosynthetic activity, consequently oxygen is deficient for respiration by aquatic creatures. Adsorption has been widely recognized as the effective removal strategy to abate dye wastewater. However, the quests to improve the adsorption efficiency are continuously sought through new adsorbents with special characters, while performing the removal process at optimum operating conditions. This short review aims to summarize the recent progress in adsorption studies of two commonly used industrial dyes, namely malachite green and congo red by various adsorbents. From the quoted studies, the oxidized mesoporous carbon yields a higher adsorption capacity of malachite green at 1265 mg/g, while Fe₃O₄@nSiO₂@mSiO₂ displays a greater capacity for congo red removal at 1429 mg/g. A superior adsorption relies not only on specific surface area but also the synergistic interactions of pore width and mesoporosity, surface chemistry, and operating conditions. The dyes properties and factors affecting the adsorption are also highlighted and discussed, with recommendations and future outlook.