Resumen
Chitin extracted from silkworm chrysalides was used to prepare chitosan applied in this investigation. Adsorption studies were carried out in column and in aqueous suspension with two dyes, blue remazol (RN) and black remazol 5 (RB). The study showed that adsorption is better in the chitosan-packed column than in the chitin-packed one. However, the comparison of the adsorption in column and in suspension revealed better results for the latter. The plotted Langmuir isotherm did not indicate significant difference in the theoretical capacity of saturation of the monolayer (Qo) for either dye. The application of the adsorption process to actual conditions was evaluated by adsorption assays of actual textile effluents. In acid pH, chitosan adsorbed the dyes responsible for the effluent coloration completely. This study showed that the use of chitosan obtained from silkworm chrysalides is a viable alternative for the immobilization of dyes in textile industry effluents.