Surface properties of oxidized lignite and its application in congo red dye adsorption

Abstract

ABSTRACT Lignite is easily oxidized, and spontaneous combustion occurs during its storage, which greatly reduces its calorific value and affects its quality and economic benefits. The surface properties of the oxidized lignite including pore structure and oxygen-containing functional groups were investigated by N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The adsorption of Congo red dye in aqueous solution by oxidized lignite was carried out. It was observed that due to oxidation, the specific surface area and total pore volume of the Huolinhe lignite samples decreased, and the average pore size increased. As oxidation temperature increased, the number of microporous and mesoporous structures decreased, resulting in the decrease of fractal dimension. The hydroxyl content was negatively correlated with the oxidation temperature, but the carbonyl content showed an opposite trend. At the initial stage of oxidation, the rate of hydroxyl consumption is higher than that of formation. The reaction to generate carbonyl, such as the oxidation of aliphatic hydrocarbons, alcohol hydroxyl groups and ethers, requires a higher reaction temperature, so the carbonyl content increased when the temperature was higher than 70 °C. Oxidized lignite was used to adsorb Congo red dye in aqueous solution, and the removal increased significantly with increasing oxidation temperature. Therefore, oxidized lignite can effectively remove Congo red dye from aqueous solution, so as to improve the economic benefit of oxidized lignite.