Recovery of ferulic acid from corn bran by adsorption on mesoporous carbon

Abstract

AbstractA great deal of corn bran is produced annually as a by‐product of the corn industry. Here, ferulic acid has been extracted from corn bran and purified by adsorption on mesoporous carbon. Different adsorption conditions, including solution pH, adsorption time, and solution concentration, have been investigated in static adsorption experiments, and an adsorption isotherm and a kinetic model have been established. Our results show that the mesoporous carbon has a much higher adsorption capacity for ferulic acid than those of activated charcoal, other activated carbon materials, and macroporous resins previously used to purify ferulic acid. The adsorption data fitted well to the Freundlich isotherm and a pseudo‐first‐order kinetic model. The potential rate‐controlling step has been examined by kinetic models. It was found that film diffusion controlled the adsorption process. Dynamic adsorption on mesoporous carbon has been shown to be efficient for the purification of ferulic acid from corn bran extract. Mesoporous carbon is a promising adsorbent for purification of ferulic acid due to its high adsorption capacity and rapid kinetics.Practical ApplicationsFerulic acid has been extracted from corn bran, an abundant by‐product of the corn industry. Mesoporous carbon has been applied in the purification of ferulic acid, based on its pore size matching the size of the ferulic acid molecule. The adsorption mechanism, kinetics, and control step have been studied. An elution chromatography was tested. The establishment of adsorption models and mass transferring parameter that can describe and predict the adsorption process is conducive to obtaining a full understanding, which is significant for the design of adsorption process.