Water purification using an eco-friendly adsorbent

Abstract

The literature has proved the high efficiency of activated carbon in removing a wide range of pollutants from water; however, the high cost of industrial types of activated carbon is one of the barriers to the wide application of this efficient adsorbent. Therefore, this study aims at the development of a new type of activated carbon from the Schanginia/sp plant (Schanginia activated carbon (SAC)) and the possibility of using it as a biosorbent for the removal of methylene blue dye (MBD) from water. The SAC was subjected to characterisation analysis, including the surface area (SBET), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) before using it to remove the MBD. Furthermore, the efficacy of SAC was investigated in batch experiments, taking into account the effects of several experimental factors, namely pH of the solution, contact duration, SAC dose, and MBD concentration. The results showed the maximum uptake of MBD was 33.34 mg/g, and the Langmuir model is suitable to reproduce the optimum biosorption. In conclusion, the obtained results proved the applicability of SAC for the removal of MBD from water. HIGHLIGHTS A new type of activated carbon was made from natural sources.; The effects of operating parameters was studied.; Characterisation of the adsorbent was conducted using SBET, FTIR, SEM, and SPM.; The new adsorbent removed 33.34 mg/g of dyes in water.;

Keywords

• activated carbon
• biosorption
• dye
• langmuir model