Abstract
The removal of organic pollutants from water sources can be enhanced using suitable adsorbents. The aim of this research was to study the adsorption capacity and potential reuse of a magnetic adsorbent prepared from agricultural wastes of yam peels (Dioscorea rotundata) for 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic (2,4-D) acid removal. The procedure was performed through carbonization and activation at 400 and 500 °C, respectively. Then, the as-prepared activated carbon (AC) was chemically modified using magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. The AC and magnetic activated carbon (MAC) were characterized and then used for batch adsorption and regeneration tests at different pH, initial concentrations of 2,4-D, and temperature. AC and MAC were showed to have microporous structures with surface areas of 715 and 325 m2/g, respectively. Superparamagnetic behavior was observed for MAC with a saturation magnetization of 6 emu/g. The results from the batch experiments showed higher adsorption capacity at high initial concentration of 2,4-D, low pH, and room temperature. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the experiments proceeded as exothermic and spontaneous adsorption. Our findings also showed that MAC can be separated from the water medium through a facile magnetic procedure, and from regeneration experiments, MAC showed better results with 60% of its initial adsorption capacity after five cycles. Hence, MAC was found to be a promising alternative adsorbent of pesticides in water.
Highlights
The rapidly growing world population has become an important matter regarding agricultural activities
Porosity in the structure of activated carbon (AC) can be strongly attributed to activation with KOH; similar results have been reported in the literature [6]
The magnetic activated carbon (MAC) presents a rough surface with low uniformity due to modification with Fe3 O4 nanoparticles which may be occupying the pores and reducing the possible active sites for the adsorption of 2,4-D
Summary
The rapidly growing world population has become an important matter regarding agricultural activities. Technologies have arisen to improve the performance of lands for harvesting, the wide use of pesticides such as herbicides is still the most effective and with low cost. Herbicides have been catalogued as one of the most hazardous pollutants to the environment due to their toxic effects after prolonged exposure. Residues of this pollutant have been found in food and drinking water, which represents a risk to human health leading to eye and skin irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea, and even to chronic illnesses such as cancer, asthma, and diabetes [1,2]. A large amount of herbicides ends up in water sources such as rivers which, through rainfall, can migrate
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