Synthesis of alumina-carbon framework for efficient sorption of methyl orange from wastewater with factorial design and mechanisms

Abstract

A series of different activated carbon (AC) based composites were synthesized from municipal agricultural wastes and applied as a support for gamma alumina loading. The adsorptive removal activities on Al2O3 doped ASAC (almond shell activated carbon), PSAC (pea shell AC), and PNSAC (peanut shell AC) adsorbents were evaluated for methyl orange removal from water. The higher breakthrough adsorbent efficacy of the AC-Al2O3 adsorbents is influenced by the H+ ions released from AC and undergoes a chemical ion exchange reaction with the terminal dimethyl nitrogen and produces a positive charge on methylene orange. These materials were characterized using several techniques. Adsorptive activities show that ASAC-Al2O3 achieved an excellent methyl orange removal efficiency of up to 86% responsible for 56.5 mg/g adsorption capacity. In comparison with ASAC-Al2O3, PSAC-Al2O3 and PNSAC-Al2O3 achieved compromising the adsorptive capacity of 77.6% and 60% accountable for the 52 and 45 mg/g adsorption efficiency, respectively. According to the findings, a mechanism for dye adsorption over AC-Al2O3 material was presented. Hence, it can be concluded that the prepared material showed enhanced adsorption efficiency and hence enhance the water quality. Thus, it is recommended to be tested on a larger scale.