Fabrication of activated carbon from Acacia Crassicarpa bark by carbothermal functionalization for adsorptive removal the dyes in aqueous solution

Abstract

Activated carbon adsorbent prepared from Acacia Crassicarpa bark has been successfully synthesized via carbonization and chemical activation processes to investigate the elimination of hazardous dyes in industrial wastewater, specifically the anionic dye methyl orange (MO) and the cationic dye methylene blue (MB) in this study. The Acacia Crassicarpa bark was washed with distilled water and dried it in an electric oven at 100 °C. The carbonization process was carried out at a temperature of 1050 °C in the Argon atmosphere and thoroughly was activated by NaOH. The results showed that a high BET surface area of 711.05 m2/g was obtained. XRD pattern presented that the high content of crystalline carbon was formed and carbon content was achieved approximately 83%. Also, SEM images illustrated the average size of carbon is 2.58 μm and surface structure of activated carbon appeared the pores inside the particle. The Langmuir was observed to fit the adsorption data well. The maximum equilibrium adsorption capacities predicted by the Langmuir isotherm were found to be 156.25 mg/g and 144.09 mg/g for MO and MB, respectively. All of those results confirm that the activated carbon originated from Acacia Crassicarpa bark can potentially be applied for water purification treatment. In comparison to traditional charcoal, this activated carbon presents numerous advantages. Notably, it can integrate into the biomass energy cycle, improve filtration capabilities, and result in cost savings.