Production and characterisation of activated carbon and carbon nanotubes from potato peel waste and their application in heavy metal removal.

Ahmed I Osman,David W Rooney,Ala’A H Al-Muhtaseb,Jacob Blewitt,Jehad K Abu-Dahrieh,Charlie Farrell,John Harrison

doi:10.1007/s11356-019-06594-w

Abstract

Herein, activated carbon (AC) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesised from potato peel waste (PPW). Different ACs were synthesised via two activation steps: firstly, with phosphoric acid (designated PP) and then using potassium hydroxide (designated PK). The AC produced after the two activation steps showed a surface area as high as 833 m2 g−1 with a pore volume of 0.44 cm3 g−1, where the raw material of PPW showed a surface area < 4 m2 g−1. This can help aid and facilitate the concept of the circular economy by effectively up-cycling and valorising waste lignocellulosic biomass such as potato peel waste to high surface area AC and subsequently, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Consequently, MWCNTs were prepared from the produced AC by mixing it with the nitrogen-based material melamine and iron precursor, iron (III) oxalate hexahydrate. This produced hydrophilic multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with a water contact angle of θ = 14.97 °. Both AC and CNT materials were used in heavy metal removal (HMR) where the maximum lead absorption was observed for sample PK with a 84% removal capacity after the first hour of testing. This result signifies that the synthesis of these up-cycled materials can have applications in areas such as wastewater treatment or other conventional AC/CNT end uses with a rapid cycle time in a two-fold approach to improve the eco-friendly synthesis of such value-added products and the circular economy from a significant waste stream, i.e., PPW.Graphical abstract.

Highlights

There is a global reliance on fossil fuel sources derived from crude oil or coal-based briquettes directly used as fuel
Chemical activation of biomass includes the above steps throughout the literature (Arampatzidou & Deliyanni 2016, Kalderis et al 2008, Kyzas & Deliyanni 2015, Kyzas et al 2016a), additional steps can be applied to improve the porosity of the final product
Due to the limitation of finite resources and the cost barrier of some of these sought after high-value materials, the application and thought of producing them from a renewable, common and regrowable crop such as potatoes provides added incentive to research the production of activated carbon and carbon nanotubes from waste lignocellulosic biomass to be able to facilitate industry and the environment’s needs

Summary

Introduction

There is a global reliance on fossil fuel sources derived from crude oil or coal-based briquettes directly used as fuel. Chemical activation of biomass includes the above steps throughout the literature (Arampatzidou & Deliyanni 2016, Kalderis et al 2008, Kyzas & Deliyanni 2015, Kyzas et al 2016a), additional steps can be applied to improve the porosity of the final product Both acid and base washing are common methods used alongside the activation. Due to the limitation of finite resources and the cost barrier of some of these sought after high-value materials, the application and thought of producing them from a renewable, common and regrowable crop such as potatoes provides added incentive to research the production of activated carbon and carbon nanotubes from waste lignocellulosic biomass to be able to facilitate industry and the environment’s needs.

Materials and methods

Results and Discussion

Conclusion