Abstract
Waste wood biomass as precursor for manufacturing activated carbon (AC) can provide a solution to ever increasing global water quality concerns. In our current work, Melia azedarach derived phosphoric acid-treated AC (MA-AC400) was manufactured at a laboratory scale. This novel MA-AC400 was tested for RO16 dye removal performance as a function of contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH, temperature and initial dye concentration in a batch scale arrangement. MA-AC400 was characterized via scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and fluorescence spectroscopy. MA-AC400 is characterized as mesoporous with BET surface area of 293.13 m2 g−1 and average pore width of 20.33 Å. pHPZC and Boehm titration confirm the acidic surface charges with dominance of phenolic functional groups. The average DLS particle size of MA-AC400 was found in the narrow range of 0.12 to 0.30 µm and this polydispersity was confirmed with multiple excitation fluorescence wavelengths. MA-AC400 showed equilibrium adsorption efficiency of 97.8% for RO16 dye at its initial concentration of 30 mg L−1 and adsorbent dose of 1 g L−1. Thermodynamic study endorsed the spontaneous, favorable, irreversible and exothermic process for RO16 adsorption onto MA-AC400. Equilibrium adsorption data was better explained by Langmuir with high goodness of fit (R2, 0.9964) and this fitness was endorsed with lower error functions. The kinetics data was found well fitted to pseudo-second order (PSO), and intra-particle diffusion kinetic models. Increasing diffusion constant values confirm the intraparticle diffusion at higher RO16 initial concentration and reverse was true for PSO chemisorption kinetics. MA-AC400 exhibited low desorption with studied eluents and its cost was calculated to be $8.36/kg.
Highlights
Synthetic colorants are widely applied chemicals in the textile sector
The surface morphology of MA-AC400 has been explored by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) before (Figure 1a,b) and after
The results demonstrated more acidic than basic groups, confirming the acidic character of MA-AC400
Summary
Synthetic colorants are widely applied chemicals in the textile sector. A diverse variety of these complex dyes is available on the international market with a range of properties and physiognomies. At an industrial scale these conventional treatment processes have certain limitations: e.g., phase, shape, band gap, light source, structure, reactor design and catalyst recovery [12], the temperature specificity and alkaline conditions of laccase enzyme [13], residual sludge generation during chemical coagulation [14], slow pore diffusion, low accessible flow rates, high pressure drop and flow channeling in ion exchange [15], and chemical incompatibility in membrane separation [16], etc It is a pressing need for a treatment technology to solve the problem in a sustainable and cost-effective manner. Cost analyses of the studied treatment system were conducted to determine its suitability for field application
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
