Activated carbon microspheres with high surface area for efficient organic contaminants removal

Abstract

Modified carbon microspheres with large specific surface area (1334 m2 g−1) and abundant microporous structure are prepared using glucose as raw material via a simple hydrothermal and subsequent activation-carbonization process. The KHCO3 activation markedly increases the specific surface area (> 6 times) and pore volume (> 4 times) of obtained carbon microspheres, which endow it with excellent adsorption ability towards organic pollutants in aqueous solution. The KHCO3 activated carbon microspheres (KCMS) can efficiently remove 94 % methylene blue in 20 min (98 % in 60 min) at a low adsorbent dosage (10 mg adsorbent vs. 100 ml, 100 mg L−1 dye), and the saturation adsorption capacity reaches 1551.99 mg/g. The synergism of chemical interaction, pore filling effect, π-π interaction, hydrogen bond formation and electrostatic attraction gives KCMS excellent adsorption performance. The KCMS can be repeatedly used with high adsorption capacity. It also exhibits good adsorption ability towards rhodamine B (237.64 mg/g) and tetracycline (297.34 mg/g), indicating it is a wide range adsorbent. The results reveal that the activated carbon microspheres obtained by a simple process are efficient adsorbents for organic pollutants removal in wastewater. It suggests a new opportunity to develop novel low-cost adsorbent with excellent performance.