Chemistry is the central science. The way the subject connects other branches of science and finds it’s applications in various aspects of life is really fascinating. Identifying a suitable topic and selecting an appropriate research question for Chemistry IA was a little challenging given the restrictions and challenges we had during this global pandemic. However, my inquisitiveness as a learner and reflective aptitude helped in me being successful to arrive at a suitable topic. The story begins from a recent article that I came across in my Facebook wall which shows that various bio-chemical waste like fruit peels, bio degradable domestic waste which when disposed in water bodies can acts as a purifier by adsorbing the heavy metal ions and other toxic organic molecules from it. Firstly, the term adsorption was new to me but what was enchanting was the fact that this is an easy and eco-friendly method of waste disposal and water purification. With my desire to have more in-depth knowledge about this, I researched on the topic of adsorption and also the various physical and chemical factors that may have an effect on the rate of adsorption. Almost all the articles or text books that I came across spoke about how the rate of adsorption depends on physical factors like temperature, pressure, surface area and many more. The inquirer inside me was bothered about the biological and chemical factors that may be relevant especially in connection to the example of use of biodegradable waste products in purifying water by adsorbing heavy metal ions and other toxic organic molecules. For example, all the sea and oceans are saline in nature and the level of salinity; concentration of NaCl would not be the same for all water bodies would not be the same. Would this difference in salinity level impact the efficiency of adsorption of heavy metals by biodegradable waste products in nay way? To answer this question, I decided to perform my investigation of Chemistry Internal Assessment based on this. Considering the restrictions of performing the experiment in home and the safety or ethical restrictions associated, I chose to study the adsorption of a dye which mimic a organic molecule at various salinity levels by using NaCl solutions of different concentrations using bread crumbs that represent the bio degradable waste product. Thus, I arrived at the research question narrated below:
How does the percentage extent of adsorption (mass of dye adsorbed by 100 g of the adsorbate) of the food color-Carmoisine Red Dye (Azorubine - C20H12N2Na2O7S2) by a definite mass of dried bread crumps in presence of aqueous NaCl depends on the molar concentration of NaCl solution used at constant temperature and surface area, determined using colorimetry?
Adsorption is a surface phenomenon where the molecules of a particular substance is more concentrated and sticks to the surface of another substance instead of entering the bulk of the matter. For example, if a plastic and a cotton is immersed in water, both of them adheres the water molecules but there is a difference. For the cotton substance, the water will enter the bulk of the matter and thus the entire cotton substance will absorb water. For the plastic substance the water molecule will stick to the surface of the object and not enter the bulk of it. This is an example of adsorption. Here, the water is the adsorbate and the plastic substance is the adsorbent. This investigation deals with the adsorption of the organic dye – Carmoisine Red Dye by bread crumbs. The organic dye solution is the adsorbate and the bread crumbs are the adsorbent. This process exists in a dynamic equilibrium as shown below:
Dye solution (adsorbate) + Bread crumbs (adsorbent ) ←---→ Dye-Bread crumbs
(adsorbate-adsorbent complex)
Adsorption are of two types:
Physisorption: Here there is only physical forces of attraction like Vander Wall forces between the molecules of adsorbate and adsorbent. This is a multilayer phenomenon and is reversible in nature.
Chemisorption: Here there are real chemical bonds between the molecules of adsorbate and adsorbent. This is a mono-layered phenomenon and is irreversible in nature.
The adsorption considered in this case is an example of chemisorption. Here, chemical bonds (covalent bonds) exists between the dye molecule and the C in the dried bread crumbs.
The adsorption extent is a quantitative tool to measure how much of the adsorbate has been adsorbed by the surface of the adsorbent. It is measured according to the equation stated below:
Percentage Adsorption extent = \(\frac{mass \ of\ dye\ adsorbed}{mass \ of\ adsorbent\ (bread\ crumb)\ used}\)×100
It may be defined as the mass of the adsorbate adhered to the surface of the 100 g of the adsorbent.
It is an azo dye formed by diazotisation of 4-aminonapthalene sulphonic acid and 4-hydroxy naphthalene sulphonic acid. The IUPAC name of the dye is Disodium 4-hydroxy-3-(4-sulfonato-1- naphthylazo) naphthalene-1-sulfonate. It is a dark red crystal at room temperature and soluble in water. It is used as a food additive as a colouring agent. It is also popular by the name of Azorubine where the prefix ‘Azo’ refers to the N = N present in the dye.
In a research based on the effect of the salt KCl on the ‘adsorption of organic molecules like phenol, toluene and benzene on activated C it was found that as the concentration of KCl increases, the adsorption coefficient of the activated charcoal was found to decrease.
This was mainly described by the electro neutralization of the surface charges on the surface of the activated charcoal that was used as a adsorbent in this case.
There is no correlation between the percentage adsorption extent of adsorption of Carmoisine Red Dye by bread crumbs and the molar concentration of NaCl solution in which the adsorption has occurred.
There is a negative correlation between the percentage adsorption extent of adsorption of Carmoisine Red Dye by bread crumbs and the molar concentration of NaCl solution in which the adsorption has occurred.
As the molar concentration of NaCl increases, the number of moles of NaCl in the solution increases which eventually occupies or binds to many molecules of the surface of the bread crumbs. This blocking of sites allows less space on the surface for the molecules of the Carmoisine Red dye to make a bond with the molecules on the surface of the bread crumbs. Thus, the mass of the dye adsorbed decreases and the percentage adsorption extent as well. The relationship between the variables as expected is illustrated in the schematic Figure-2.
The purpose of the investigation was to study the effect of changes in salinity level on extent of adsorption. To do so, NaCl solutions of different molar concentration was used. The molar concentrations used are in the range of 0.00 moldm-3 (conrol), 0.20 moldm-3 , 0.40 moldm-3 , 0.60 moldm-3 , 0.80 moldm-3 and 1.00 moldm-3 . The mass of NaCl added was varied according to the concentration of the solution that has to be made.
A standard calibration curve was made using solutions of the dye of known strength to derive a mathematical relationship between the concentration of dye solution and the absorbance values. The wavelength at which the dye displays the maximum absorbance (447 nm) was chosen. The absorbance of the solution after the adsorption has happened was measured and the equation from the calibration curve was used to deduce the concentration of the dye left un-adsorbed. Finally, using the expression for the percentage adsorption extent, the magnitude of it was calculated at various levels of salinity.
5.00 ± 0.01 g of powdered bread crumbs was used in all trials.
A 100 cm3 glass beaker was used in all trials.
100 cm3 glass beaker.
Safety precautions:
The methodology used does not result in the emission of any toxic gases or by-products that may harm the environment in any possible way.
All the unused chemicals were diluted and then disposed of. The waste chemicals were segregated into solid waste and liquid waste. The liquid waste chemicals were stored in a sealed plastic container, large amount of water was added to it to reduce the toxicity and then disposed into the sink. The solid waste products were taken to an open space and burnt.
Glass beaker – 100 cm3
Graduated pipette – 10 cm3
0.10 cm3
± 0.05 cm3
Preparation of 0.20 mol dm-3 NaCl solutions
Mass of NaCl to be used = moles × molar mass = concentration × volume × molar mass
= 0.20 × \(\frac{100}{1000}\) × 58.05 = 1.16 g
Repeat the same process to prepare 0.40 moldm-3 , 0.60 moldm-3 , 0.80 moldm-3 and 1.00 moldm-3 NaCl solutions. Use 2.32 ± 0.01 g, 3.48 ± 0.01 g, 4.64 ± 0.01 g and 5.80 ± 0.01 g of NaCl respectively.
For Row-1:
Mass of dye taken = 0.50 ± 0.01 g
Molar mass of dye taken = 502.44
Volume of solution = 100 cc
Molar concentration of dye solution =\(\frac{moles \ of\ dye}{Volume \ of \ solution}\) = \(\frac{\frac{mass\ of\ dye}{molar\ mass\ of\ dye}}{\frac{Volume\ of\ solution\ in\ cc}{1000}}\) = \(\frac{\frac{0.50}{502.44}}{\frac{100}{1000}}\)
≅ 1.00 × 10-2 mol dm-3
Mean absorbance = \(\frac{0.064+0.061+0.062+0.060+0.064}{5}\) = 0.062 ± 0.001 abs
Standard deviation (SD) = \(\frac{(0.064-0.062)^2+(0.061-0.062)^2+(0.062-0.062)^2+(0.060-0.062)^2+(0.064-0.062)^2}{2}\) = 0.002
As per the trend line obtained in the graph, the absorbance (± 0.001 abs) and the molar concentration (10-2 mol dm-3 ) are related according to the equation:
y = 0.0644 x
x = \(\frac{y}{0.0644}\)
Molar concentration (x) = \(\frac{absorbance\ (±0.0001\ abs)}{0.0644}\) × 10-2 mol dm-3 (equation - 1)
According to Beer-Lambert law, A = ∈× c × l , the absorbance and the concentration are directly related. Thus, a straight line passing through the origin of the form y = mx is expected when absorbance is plotted against molar concentration, where y is the absorbance, x is the molar concentration and slope (m) is the product of molar absorptivity constant (∈) and the path length (l). Thus, the graph obtained here is in agreement with the Beer-Lambert law.
Molar concentration of aqueous NaCl (× 10-2mol dm-3 )
For 0.00 mol dm-3 of NaCl (distilled water),
Average absorbance of the solution after 1 hour of adsorption of the red dye by dried bread crumbs
= 0.195 ± 0.001 abs
Using equation-1,
Molar concentration (x) = \(\frac{absorbance\ (±0.001\ abs)}{0.0644}\) × 10-2 mol dm-3
molar concentraton = \(\frac{0.195}{0.0644}\) = 3.02 × 10-2 mol dm-3
Moles of dye un-adsorbed
= molar concentration of the dye after 1 hour of adsorption × Volume
= 3.02 × 10-2 × \(\frac{100}{1000}\) = 3.02 × 10-3
Mass of dye un-adsorbed = moles of dye un - adsorbed × molar mass = 3.02 × 10-3 × 502.44 = 1.52 g
Mass of dye adsorbed
= initial mass of dye taken - mass of dye unadsorbed = 2.00 - 1.52 = 0.48 g
Percentage adsorption extent = \(\frac{mass \ of \ dye\ adsorbed}{mass \ of \ dried\ bread\ crumbs\ taken}\) × 100 = \(\frac{0.48}{5.00}\) = 9.57
As the molar concentration is calculated from the value of absorbance, Absolute error in molar concentration (∆c) = absolute error in absorbance (∆A) = ±0.001 As the number of moles of dye un-adsorbed is calculated using the molar concentration of the dye solution after it was adsorbed for 1 hour and the total volume of the solution used, Fractional error in moles of dye un-adsorbed = fractional error of molar concentration of the dye after adsorption for 1 hour + fractional error in total volume of the solution
=\(\frac{±\ 0.001}{3.02\ ×\ 10^-2}\) + \(\frac{±\ 0.50}{100}\) ±0.04
As the mass of dye un-adsorbed was calculated from the moles of dye un-adsorbed, the fractional error in mass of dye un-adsorbed and that in the moles of dye un-adsorbed.
Fractional error in mass of dye un-adsorbed = ± 0.004
Absolute error in mass of dye un-adsorbed
fractional error of dye un - adsorbed × mass of dye unadsorbed = ± 0.004 × 1.52 = ± 0.006
Mass of dye adsorbed = Initial mass of dye added – Mass of dye un-adsorbed
= 2.00 − 1.52 ± (0.01 + 0.006) = 0.48 ± 0.02 g
Fractional error in adsorption extent
= \(\frac{absolute \ error\ in\ mass\ of\ dye\ adsorbed}{mass\ of\ dye\ adsorbed}\) + \(\frac{absolute\ error \ in\ mass\ of\ breadcrumbs\ added}{mass\ of\ breadcrumbs\ added}\) = \(\frac{±0.02}{0.48}\) + \(\frac{±0.01}{5.00}\)
Percentage error in adsorption extent = \(\bigg(\frac{±0.02}{0.48}+\frac{±0.01}{5.00}\bigg)\) × 100 = ± 4.37
As indicated in Figure - 11, the values of percentage adsorption extent is decreasing from 9.57 to 4.74 as the molar concentration of NaCl increases from 0.00 moldm-3 to 1.00 moldm-3. The fact that, there is a sharp fall in the value of percentage adsorption extent from 9.57 to 6.92 as we shift from control (0.00 moldm-3 , distilled water) to 0.02 moldm-3 NaCl solution allows us to claim that the presence of NaCl decreases the adsorption of the dye from the solution by the adsorbent bread crumbs. The shape of the curve obtained clearly affirms that the decrease in percentage adsorption extent is not regular or linear. At the concentration of 0.60 moldm- 3 of NaCl solution, the concentration of NaCl becomes a limiting factor and has no major impact on the percentage adsorption extent as the curve gets almost parallel to the x axes. The values for 0.60 moldm-3 NaCl to 1.00 moldm-3 NaCl is almost along a straight line showing that after the threshold value of 0.60 moldm-3 NaCl, the decrease in percentage adsorption is independent of the molar concentration of NaCl and reaches a constant value. Mathematically, it will be an extremely high concentration of NaCl solution when the adsorption of the dye by the bread crumbs will absolutely cease down.
As the molar concentration of NaCl increases, there are more and more Na+ and Cl- ions in the medium and these ions occupies the surface sites of the bread crumbs. Thus, less surface spaces are available for the dye molecules to form a chemical bond with the surface molecules of the bread crumbs and that eventually reduces the percentage of adsorption extent. Adsorption of dye molecules in a solid adsorbent surface of the bread crumbs in a liquid medium is an example of chemisorption. Thus, lesser the availability of the surface sites, less the molecules adsorbed and lower the percentage of adsorption extent.
How does the percentage extent of adsorption (mass of dye adsorbed by 100 g of the adsorbate) of the food
color-Carmoisine Red Dye (Azorubine- C20H12N2Na2O7S2) by a definite mass of dried bread crumps in
presence of aqueous NaCl depends on the molar concentration of NaCl solution used at constant temperature and surface area, determined using colorimetry?
The process of adsorption and its thermodynamics depends on various factors like pH, temperature, pressure and many more. I would like to the study of adsorption of the dye molecules by activated charcoal at various temperatures to study the effect of temperature on the rate of adsorption of dye molecules by activated charcoal. I would use a solution of dye molecules by activated charcoal in a solution of dye at various temperature using a water bath. The absorbance of the dye molecule can be measured at various time intervals and a scatter plot of absorbance of the dye against time can be used to calculate the rate of the adsorption using the gradient of the graph obtained. Thus, this investigation can address the research question – how does the temperature affect the rate of adsorption of dye molecules by activated charcoal.
Arafat, Hassan A., et al. “Effect of Salt on the Mechanism of Adsorption of Aromatics on Activated Carbon.” Langmuir, vol. 15, no. 18, Aug. 1999, pp. 5997–6003. ACS Publications, doi:10.1021/la9813331.
EUR-Lex - 32012R0231 - EN - EUR-Lex. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32012R0231. Accessed 20 May 2021.
Gupta, Vinod K., et al. “Adsorption of Carmoisine A from Wastewater Using Waste Materials—Bottom Ash and Deoiled Soya.” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, vol. 335, no. 1, July 2009, pp. 24– 33. DOI.org (Crossref), doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2009.03.056.
PubChem. Carmoisine. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/19118. Accessed 20 May 2021.