In-situ regeneration of carbon monoliths as an environmental-benign adsorbent for environmental remediation via a flow-through model

Abstract

Electro-adsorption is considered an attractive and efficient technology for wastewater treatment, which still faces challenges for practical applications. Mesoporous carbon monolith (MCM) as an adsorbent with the aid of an electric field in a self-designed device via a flow-through model was developed. The high removal performances for organic (242.72 and 195.31 mg g−1 for methylene blue and ofloxacin, respectively) and inorganic (33.34 mg g−1 for Cu2+) contaminants with the aid of an electric field were obtained, higher than those without an electric field. The low resistance, high specific capacitance, and specific surface area of MCM were found to be beneficial for the transportation and storage of contaminants, thus improving the removal performance. The high recyclability of MCM with eight runs was also observed through the efficient electro-desorption process, which was helpful for the in-situ regeneration of the carbon adsorbent. Furthermore, the efficient electro-desorption of Cu2+ ions from the MCM surface could enrich Cu2+ in the defined solution with a concentration of 36.23 mg L-1 after ten times electro-adsorption/desorption recycles.