Porous adsorbent prepared from eco-friendly aqueous foam templates and carbonized for soil remediation

Abstract

Porous adsorption materials have garnered extensive attention in environmental remediation in recent years, but green preparation and effective post-treatment remain the main challenges in practical applications. Here, a novel porous adsorbent was successfully fabricated from the aqueous foams templates stabilized by the natural plant Sapindus mukorossi (S. mukorossi) and nano-clay attapulgite (APT) via a thermally-initiated polymerization. The as-prepared porous adsorbents exhibited abundant interconnected pore structures and demonstrated excellent adsorption properties for chlortetracycline hydrochloride (CTC) and tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), with a maximum adsorption capacity of 620 mg/g and 538 mg/g, respectively. After adsorption, the waste porous adsorbent was converted into carbon/APT material through anaerobic calcination. At a carbonization temperature of 400 °C, carbon/APT with large amounts of negative charges and oxygen-containing functional groups exhibited a good adsorption capacity for Cd2+ and showed potential as a soil remediation agent. In summary, this study presents a feasible new idea for the green preparation and post-processing of waste adsorbents, offering a promising solution to the challenges faced in practical applications.