Adsorption of congo red from aqueous solutions by porous soybean curd xerogels

Soybean curd is a very popular food containing high-quality protein, polyunsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. This study aims to prepare porous soybean curd xerogels via a vacuum freeze drying method and uses them as adsorbents to remove congo red from aqueous solutions. The morphology and functional groups of the soybean curd xerogels were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. The adsorption properties of congo red onto the soybean curd xerogels were carried out through investigating the influencing experimental parameters such as the drying method, solution pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and temperature. The results showed that the adsorption isotherm data were fitted well to the Freundlich isotherm. Adsorption kinetics of congo red onto the soybean curd followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters, such as ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS°, were also determined.