Growth and optimization of carbon nanotubes in powder activated carbon for an efficient removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution.

Autor: Alayan HM; a Centre for Ionic Liquids, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.; b Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia., Alsaadi MA; a Centre for Ionic Liquids, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.; c Nanotechnology and Catalysis Research Centre (NANOCAT), University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia., AlOmar MK; a Centre for Ionic Liquids, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.; d Department of Civil Engineering, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia., Hashim MA; a Centre for Ionic Liquids, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.; b Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental technology [Environ Technol] 2019 Jul; Vol. 40 (18), pp. 2400-2415. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Mar 02.
DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2018.1441911
Abstrakt: This work demonstrated the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on powder activated carbon (PAC) impregnated with Ni-catalyst through chemical vapour deposition. The optimized effects of reaction temperature, time and feedstock flow rates on CNT growth were examined. Potassium permanganate (KMnO 4 ) and potassium permanganate in acidic solution (KMnO 4 /H 2 SO 4 ) were used to functionalize CNTs samples. A primary screening of methylene blue (MB) adsorption was conducted. The chemical, physical and morphological properties of the adsorbent with the highest removal efficiency were investigated using FESEM, EDX, TEM, BET surface area, RAMAN, TGA, FTIR, and zeta potential. The resulting carbon nanotube-loaded activated carbons possessed abundant pore structure and large surface area. The MB removal by the as-synthesized CNTs was more remarkable than that by the modified samples. Adsorption studies were carried out to evaluate the optimum conditions, kinetics and isotherms for MB adsorption process. The response surface methodology-central composite design (RSM-CCD) was used to optimize the adsorption process parameters, including pH, adsorbent dosage and contact time. The investigation of the adsorption behaviour demonstrated that the adsorption was well fitted with the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm with the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 174.5 mg/g. Meanwhile, the adsorption of MB onto adsorbent was driven by the electrostatic attraction and π-π interaction. Moreover, the as-obtained CNT-PAC exhibited good reusability after four repeated operations. In view of these empirical findings, the low-cost CNT-PAC has potential for removal of MB from aqueous solution.
Databáze: MEDLINE