Adsorption kinetics of picloram on chitosan-modified Strychnos pungens fruit shell activated carbon
摘要
Activated carbon (AC) fabricated using Strychnos pungens fruit shells (biowaste) and encapsulated in a chitosan biopolymer (CHO) was applied for the removal of picloram from aqueous solutions. The synthesized activated carbon-chitosan beads (ACCHO) were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Infrared spectroscopy (IR) and Emmett Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The findings demonstrated the successful encapsulation of AC to produce ACCHO with both crystalline and amorphous properties. The application of ACCHO for picloram removal was affected by solution pH, adsorbent dosage, and initial picloram concentration. The efficiency increased with adsorbent dosage, reaching an optimum at 40 g/L. Similarly, efficiency increased as pH increased from 2 to 6, but declined at pH 8. Optimal conditions of pH 6, 40 g/L ACCHO dosage and 50 mg/L picloram produced 88% removal efficiency. The picloram adsorption kinetics best fitted the pseudo-first order (PFO) model. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms provide a good description of the picloram adsorption process. The adsorption mechanism on ACCHO was postulated to involve multiple interactions caused by electrostatic and weak forces of attraction. The results of the current study suggest that ACCHO can be used as a potential adsorbent for removing picloram and similar chemicals from contaminated water.