Microwave-assisted activated carbon from cocoa shell as adsorbent for removal of sodium diclofenac and nimesulide from aqueous effluents

Activated carbon derived from carbon residue from biomass gasification and its application for dye adsorption: Kinetics, isotherms and thermodynamic studies

In this work, activated carbon (AC) as an effective and low-cost adsorbent was successfully prepared from carbon residue (or char, one of the by-products from woody biomass gasification) via physical activation. The surface area of char was significantly increased from 172.24 to 776.46m(2)/g after steam activation at 900°C. The obtained activated carbons were then employed for the adsorption of dye (Rhodamine B) and it was found that activated carbon obtained from steam activation exhibited the highest adsorption capability, which is mainly attributed to the higher surface area and the abundance of hydroxyl (-OH) and carboxyl (-COOH) groups on the activated carbon surface. Moreover, it was also found that the adsorption capability significantly increased under the basic condition, which can be attributed to the increased electrostatic interaction between the deprotonated (negatively charged) activated carbon and dye molecules. Furthermore, the equilibrium data were fitted into different adsorption isotherms and found to fit well with Langmuir model (indicating that dye molecules form monolayer coverage on activated carbon) with a maximum monolayer adsorption capability of 189.83mg/g, whereas the adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics.

Removal of tetracycline antibiotic from contaminated water media by multi-walled carbon nanotubes: operational variables, kinetics, and equilibrium studies

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were purified and oxidized by a 4 mol L(-1) mixture of H2SO4:H2O2 and then were used as adsorbent for tetracycline (TC) adsorption from aqueous solutions. The purified MWCNTs were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. The adsorption of TC onto the MWCNT was investigated as a function of the initial pH of the solution, adsorbent dosage, and background electrolyte cations and anions. The results of the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that Fe(3+) ion significantly affected and decreased TC adsorption onto the MWCNT (P-value < 0.05), while other studied cations and anions did not affect TC adsorption (P-value>0.05). Nonlinear pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, general order, and Avrami fractionary-order kinetic models were used to investigate the kinetics of TC adsorption. The fractionary-order kinetic model provided the best fit to experimental data. In addition, the adsorption isotherms data were well described by nonlinear equation of the Liu isotherm model with the maximum adsorption capacity of 253.38 mg g(-1). The results of this study indicate that the oxidized MWCNTs can be used as an effective adsorbent for TC removal from aqueous solutions.

Adsorption of sodium diclofenac on graphene: a combined experimental and theoretical study

The interactions of sodium diclofenac drug (s-DCF) with different graphene species were investigated using both first principles calculations based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) and adsorption experiments. Through batch adsorption experiments, it was found that rGO was a good adsorbent for removing the s-DCF drug from aqueous solutions. The general-order kinetic model shows the best fit to the experimental data compared with pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order kinetic adsorption models. The equilibrium data (at 25 °C) were fitted to the Liu isotherm model. The maximum sorption capacity for adsorption of the s-DCF drug was 59.67 mg g(-1) for rGO. The s-DCF adsorption onto pristine graphene, graphene with a vacancy, reduced oxide graphene (rGO) and functionalized graphene nanoribbons were simulated providing a good understanding of the adsorption process of this molecule on graphene-family surfaces. The results predict a physisorption regime in all cases. Based on these results, the ab initio calculations and the adsorption experiments point out that the graphene-family are promising materials for extracting s-DCF from wastewater effluents.

Biosorption of gold from computer microprocessor leachate solutions using chitin

The biosorption of gold from discarded computer microprocessor (DCM) leachate solutions was studied using chitin as a biosorbent. The DCM components were leached with thiourea solutions, and two procedures were tested for recovery of gold from the leachates: (1) biosorption and (2) precipitation followed by biosorption. For each procedure, the biosorption was evaluated considering kinetic, equilibrium, and thermodynamic aspects. The general order model was able to represent the kinetic behavior, and the equilibrium was well represented by the BET model. The maximum biosorption capacities were around 35 mg g(-1) for both procedures. The biosorption of gold on chitin was a spontaneous, favorable, and exothermic process. It was found that precipitation followed by biosorption resulted in the best gold recovery, because other species were removed from the leachate solution in the precipitation step. This method enabled about 80% of the gold to be recovered, using 20 g L(-1) of chitin at 298 K for 4 h.