Highly efficient porous carbons for the removal of W(VI) oxyanion from wastewaters

Abstract

Pyrolysis chars derived from rice wastes were chemically activated and used in W(VI) oxyanion adsorption assays in synthetic and mining wastewaters. For comparison purposes, a commercial activated carbon (CAC) was also used. Different experimental conditions were tested in the adsorption assays: solid/liquid ratio (S/L), initial pH, contact time, and initial W concentration. The porous carbon P2C+KOH presented the overall best performance in both media, due to its high surface area (2610 m2 g−1), mesopore volume (1.14 cm3 g−1), and neutral pHpzc (6.92). In the synthetic wastewater, the highest uptake capacity of P2C+KOH (854 mg g−1) was found in the assays with an S/L 0.1 g L−1, an initial pH 2, and an initial W concentration of 150 mg L−1, for 24 h. This value was almost 8 times higher than the one obtained for CAC (113 mg g−1). In the mining wastewater, P2C+KOH showed an even higher uptake capacity (1561 mg g−1) in the assay with the same experimental conditions, which was almost 3 times higher than for CAC (561 mg g−1). These results suggest that P2C+KOH seems to be an efficient alternative to CAC in the W(VI) adsorption from liquid effluents.