Abstract
Upcycling polyurethane plastic waste (PUPW) into activated carbon (AC) for the removal of malachite green dye (MG) in wastewater via physical adsorption could provide abundant low-cost adsorbent and facilitate treatment of plastic waste and wastewater simultaneously. For this reason, four types of PUPW-ACs were prepared by various preparation procedures. The properties of PUPW-ACs were characterized using BET, FT-IR, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, and XRD; the adsorption performances of PUPW-ACs were also evaluated. It was found that the properties of PUPW-ACs varied in terms of porosity, microstructures, and surface chemistry. Intentional modulation of PUPW-AC would be possible via preparation procedure adjustment. Two-step preparation procedure (1. carbonization; 2. activation) was recommended to acquire PUPW-AC (i.e., PUPW-AC-C-A) with a high specific surface area of 1034 m2 g−1 and the maximum MG adsorption capacity of 1428 mg g-1. Electrostatic attraction, oxygen-containing groups (especially carboxyl functional groups), and π–π interaction were believed to contribute to the adsorption driving force for the outstanding adsorption performance of MG on PUPW-AC-C-A. The PUPW-AC prepared from PUPW could serve as a promising adsorbent used in MG dye removal from aqueous systems.
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