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Activated carbon from chili straw: K2CO3 activation mechanism, adsorption of dyes, and thermal regeneration

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Abstract

Activated carbon (ACcs) from chili straw was prepared by sequential carbonization and K2CO3 activation and applied for adsorption of cationic (methylene blue (MB)) and anionic (methyl orange (MO)) dyes with similar molecular sizes from aqueous solution. The physicochemical properties of chili straw char (Charcs) and ACcs were compared based on N2-adsorption/desorption, SEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and FTIR. Activation mechanism was revealed with the aid of TG-FTIR. Batch experiments were performed to determine the isotherm models for adsorption of dyes. Results showed that ACcs possessed a large specific surface area of 1868 m2 g−1. The formation of pores was attributed to the reactions between oxygen-containing functional groups in Charcs and K2CO3 at temperatures of 670 to 850 °C. Sips model was applicable for the adsorption isotherm data for both MO and MB with outstanding maximum adsorption capacities of 1542 and 989 mg g−1, respectively. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that the adsorption processes of MO and MB were endothermic and spontaneous, and the adsorption was more spontaneous in the case of MO. Zeta potential analysis revealed that electrostatic interactions were responsible for the significant difference between the adsorption capacities for MO and MB. Thermal desorption MO from ACcs was investigated by TG-FTIR, and thermal regeneration of MO-saturated ACcs was carried out at 650 °C for 30 min, and the regeneration efficiency remained higher than 60% after five cycles.

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Data availability

The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51909292), and the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Public Welfare Scientific Research Institution (K-JBYWF-2021-ZT04, R-JBYWF-2021-D05, R-JBYWF-2021-D04).

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  1. Research Team for Environmental Functional Materials, Department of Environmental Technology, The Institute of Seawater Desalination and Multipurpose Utilization (ISDMU), Ministry of Natural Resources of the People’s Republic of China, Tian**, 300192, China

    Xunliang Wang, Xuemin Feng & Yuhui Ma

  2. School of Marine Science and Technology, Tian** University, Tian**, 300072, China

    Xunliang Wang

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Xunliang Wang: investigation, conceptualization, formal analysis, writing—original draft.

Xuemin Feng: investigation, formal analysis, writing—revised draft.

Yuhui Ma: funding acquisition, supervision, conceptualization, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Yuhui Ma.

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Wang, X., Feng, X. & Ma, Y. Activated carbon from chili straw: K2CO3 activation mechanism, adsorption of dyes, and thermal regeneration. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04173-1

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