Upcycling of aureomycin hydrochloride residue into highly meso-microporous carbon with remarkable adsorption capacity for benzene capture

Abstract

The exploration of high-value utilization of antibiotic bacteria residues is of great importance at the environmental and resource levels. In this study, we report an aureomycin hydrochloride residue-derived activated carbon and its application in the adsorption of hazardous benzene. Self-N-doped activated carbon with excellent benzene adsorption properties was prepared by K2CO3-assisted activation pyrolysis using aureomycin hydrochloride residue as carbon and nitrogen sources. It is found that the pore structure and the benzene adsorption behavior could be optimized through regulating the mass ratio of K2CO3 to carbon (mK2CO3/mC) and the activation temperature. Under the pyrolysis conditions of mK2CO3/mC = 3:1 and 800 ºC, the specific surface area and total pore volume of the as-prepared carbon reached 1564 m2 g−1 and 0.70 cm3 g−1, respectively, whereas those of the micropores were 1440 m2 g−1 and 0.48 cm3 g−1, respectively, implying that the proportion of micropores reached 68.6%. The adsorption capacity of benzene based on the optimal adsorbent (AHRC-3PC-800) was as high as 1303 mg g−1 at 25 ºC and relative pressure (P/P0) of 0.9–1. Therefore, the aureomycin hydrochloride residue-based activated carbon adsorbent has a broad application prospect in the removal of volatile organic compounds.