Development of Chicken Feather Biocomposite for the Removal of Methylene Blue

This study investigated the removal of methylene blue using chicken feather biocomposite. The chicken feather biocomposite was developed by using Simplex Lattice Design (SLD) of the Design Expert (6.0.8) as an optimization tool. The kinetic and diffusion mechanisms of the removal of methylene blue were also investigated. Fourteen experimental runs were generated from the use of SLD. The best biosorbent was obtained from a mix of feathers of broiler, cockerel and layers (5:5:90 %) respectively which gave 0.945 mg/g as its adsorption capacity. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) gave a significant model while the R2 and predicted R2 were 0.8997 and 0.8161, respectively. The contours and 3D plots of the design showed the relationship between the three feathers used. The experimental and numerical values of the adsorption capacity from the study were 0.9454 and 0.9447, respectively which gave an error difference of 0.07%. Pseudo-second order gave the best fit for this study while the diffusion mechanisms showed that the process followed surface/film diffusion and intraparticle diffusion. Optimization of the feather biocomposite indicates that chicken feather biocomposite is an effective biosorbent.