Synthesis of core–shell activated carbon/CaO composite from Ficus Nitida leaves, as an efficient adsorbent for removal of methylene blue

In this work, activated carbon is prepared from Ficus Nitida leaves using CaCO 3 as an activation agent (AC/CaO core–shell composite). The properties of produced activated carbon were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N 2 adsorption Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanotechnology for environmental engineering 2020-12, Vol.5 (3), Article 24
Main Authors: Emara, Mostafa M., Farag, Rabie Saad, Mubarak, Mahmoud F., Ali, Sayed Kotb
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated carbon
Adsorption
Adsorptivity
Calcium carbonate
Carbon
Dyes
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Enthalpy
Entropy
Environment
Environmental Science and Engineering
Ficus nitida
Fourier transforms
Free energy
Infrared spectroscopy
Iodine
Mathematical models
Methylene blue
Nanotechnology and Microengineering
Original Paper
Parameters
Rate constants
Scanning electron microscopy
Surface area
Surface chemistry
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Summary:In this work, activated carbon is prepared from Ficus Nitida leaves using CaCO 3 as an activation agent (AC/CaO core–shell composite). The properties of produced activated carbon were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N 2 adsorption Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). According to the results, the external surface area, total surface area, and mesoporous area of AC/CaO core–shell composite were found to be (153.8 m 2 /g), (1255.5 m 2 /g), and (1101.7), respectively. On the other hand, the adsorption capacity is expressed by the iodine numbers. The adsorptive property of the AC/CaO core–shell composite was tested using methylene blue dye. Subsequently, equilibrium data were best fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model, showing a maximum adsorption capacity of 356 mg/g. To determine the kinetic data, the pseudo-first kinetic model and the second kinetic model were studied, and the rate constants also were estimated. Adsorption of the methylene blue dye obeyed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Thermodynamic parameters for instance free energy change, enthalpy change, and entropy change of dye adsorption were obtained. Different thermodynamic parameters such as free energy change, enthalpy change, and entropy change of dye adsorption have also been evaluated, and it has been found that the adsorption was favorable, spontaneous, and exothermic in nature. The results indicate that the AC/CaO core–shell composite could be used to effectively adsorb the methylene blue dye from the contaminated solutions. Graphic abstract
ISSN:2365-6379
2365-6387
DOI:10.1007/s41204-020-00088-8