Coal-Based Activated Carbon via Microwave-Assisted ZnCl2 Activation for Methyl Violet 2B Dye Removal: Optimization, Desirability Function, and Adsorption Mechanism
Date
2023
Authors
Musa, Salis A.
Abdulhameed, Ahmed Saud
Baharin, Siti Nor Atika
ALOthman, Zeid
Wilson, Lee
Jawad, Ali H.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
ORCID
Type
Article
Degree Level
Abstract
In this work, activated carbon (referred to as MCAC) was produced by microwave radiation assisted ZnCl2 activation using Malaysian coal (MC) as a precursor. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller findings indicate that the MCAC has a relatively large surface area (798.18 m2/g) and a mesoporous structure (average pore diameter of 3.67 nm). The removal of Methylene Violet (MV 2B) a cationic dye model, was employed to investigate the adsorption properties of MCAC. A numerical desirability function in the Box–Behnken design (BBD) was employed to optimize the independent crucial adsorption variables as follows: A: MCAC dose (0.02–0.1 g); B: pH (4–10); and C: time (5–25 min). The results of equilibrium and dynamic adsorption showed that the adsorption of MV 2B followed Freundlich and pseudo-second order models, respectively. The maximum amount of MV 2B dye that the MCAC could adsorb (qmax) was 134.1 mg/g. Electrostatic interactions, π-π stacking, H-bonding, and pore diffusion contribute to the adsorption of MV 2B dye onto the MCAC surface. This study demonstrates the potential to utilize MC as a low-cost precursor for the efficient synthesis of MAC and its utility for the removal of pollutants.
Description
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
Keywords
activated carbon, coal, chemical activation, adsorption, dye removal, Box–Behnken design
Citation
Musa, S.A.; Abdulhameed, A.S.; Baharin, S.N.A.; ALOthman, Z.A.;Wilson, L.D.; Jawad, A.H. Coal-Based Activated Carbon via Microwave-Assisted ZnCl2 Activation for Methyl Violet 2B Dye Removal: Optimization, Desirability Function, and Adsorption Mechanism. Minerals 2023, 13, 438. https://doi.org/10.3390/min13030438
Degree
Department
Program
Advisor
Committee
Part Of
item.page.relation.ispartofseries
DOI
10.3390/min13030438