Abstract
Hickory and peanut hydrochars were chemically activated with KOH and H3PO4 and tested for their ability to remove methylene blue and lead from aqueous solutions. The physicochemical characteristics of the activated hydrochars determined were surface area, pore volume, and elemental composition. Kinetics and isotherm studies were then conducted on methylene blue adsorption. Compared to their nonactivated counterparts, the chemically activated hydrochars had higher surface areas and more functional groups. Activated hydrochars also had greater methylene blue and lead adsorption rates, which can be attributed to the improved physicochemical characteristics. H3PO4 activated hydrochars removed more contaminants than the corresponding KOH ones.
Highlights
There are needs for carbon based adsorbents, activated carbon (AC), for the removal of aqueous contaminants
In the hickory activated hydrochar (AHC), BJH-Pore volumes (PV) decreased after activation despite the increase in surface area, the BJH-PV of peanut hull AHCs increased along with an increase in surface area (Table 1)
Previous studies have shown that chemical activated AC may have small pore volume due to the lower burn-off rate compared to physical activation [26]
Summary
There are needs for carbon based adsorbents, activated carbon (AC), for the removal of aqueous contaminants. Water bodies are often contaminated due to discharges by industrial activity, and it is a major concern throughout the world due to the ecological and health risks it poses [1]. Some of the feedstocks tested include waste tires, coir pith, bagasse, olive mill waste, corn cobs, and apricot stones [7,8,9,10,11,12]. These feedstocks have been found to produce ACs that are highly effective for the removal of dyes and heavy metals [7,8,9,10,11,12]
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