Recycled Activated Carbon-Based Materials for the Removal of Organic Pollutants from Wastewater

Abstract

Wastewater treatment has been drawing more and more attention due to increasing water pollution. The most common sources of water pollution are heavy metals, dyes, plastics, and foods from industries. Animal, agriculture, and farm wastes are other important causes of water pollution. Several adsorbents have been tested for wastewater treatment. Among these, activated carbon (AC) is the best and the most effective adsorbent for a specific class of pollutants because of its abundant starting materials availability, high surface area, surface reactivity, adsorption efficiency, and porosity structure. Although commercial AC has outstanding potential in the industry of water treatment, the usage is limited because of the high cost. The high initial cost and expensive regeneration of AC motivate the search for low cost, disposable ACs from conventional wastes materials to remove dyes, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and organic pollutants. The main goal of this chapter is to compare and list the advantages and disadvantages and methods of AC preparation from wastes materials as adsorbents and their application in water treatment to remove pollutants.