[Efficiency of Pistaciaatlantica seed extract as natural coagulant in the removal of Reactive Red 198 dye from aqueous solution]

Textile dyes and other dyes used in various industries are among the largest organic compounds which can be a major hazard to the health and environment. Therefore treatment of wastewater before discharging it into the environment is necessary. In the present study we investigated the efficiency of Pistacia atlantica seed extract in a batch system for removal of Reactive Red-198 dye from aqueous solutions. This is a basic- applications study conducted in laboratory. The effects of independent variables such as coagulant dose [0.1-1 ml L-1], initial dye concentration [50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/l] and pH [2-12] were investigated. To measure the residual concentration of dye we used a spectrophotometer at the wavelength of 520 nm. Excel software was used for data analysis. The optimum pH for Reactive Red-198 removal by coagulation using Pistacia atlantica seed extract was 12, with a coagulant dose of 0.5 ml/L. The highest removal rates were 83.12, 84.20, 87.36 and 88.49% at initial dye concentrations of 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L respectively, which could be result of precipitation, co-precipitation and adsorption mechanisms. According to the results of this study, Pistacia atlantica seed extract was an inexpensive coagulant, and also quite effective in the removal of Reactive Red-198 dye from aqueous environments