Activated Carbon as Superadsorbent and Sustainable Material for Diverse Applications

Abstract

Activated carbon is a carbonaceous material with highly porous structure. Different functionalities can be introduced to its surface by various physical and chemical treatments. Various precursors can be used for the synthesis of activated carbon such as fossil fuels, agricultural wastes, and lignocellulosic wastes, etc. Number of papers have been reported in literature devoted to the synthesis, characterization, and various applications of activated carbon. Herein, in this review, special attention has been paid to the basic properties of activated carbon and its surface chemistry originated due to physical and chemical treatment. In addition, a general introduction to adsorption process, various adsorption isotherms, and adsorption kinetics is also included. A brief description of mechanism of adsorption onto activated carbon is also presented. At last, most probable applications of activated carbon such as adsorption of pollutants (e.g., dyes, heavy metal ions, pesticides, pharmaceutical waste products, and volatile organic organic), as catalyst support, anduse in food and pharmaceutical industries is also presented.

Adsorption of Anionic and Cationic Dyes on Activated Carbon Prepared from Oak Cupules: Kinetics and Thermodynamics Studies

“…Additionally, it is employed as an adsorbent for the removal of several organic pollutants from air and water. AC was prepared from several types of agricultural waste and was employed for the elimination of different dyes from aqueous solutions [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Activated Carbon from Sugarcane Bagasse Pyrolysis for Heavy Metals Adsorption

“…Activated carbon is a carbonaceous material known for its large specific surface area, superior porosity, high physicochemical stability and excellent surface reactivity (Saleem et al 2019;Nguyen et al 2021). It is widely employed as a functional material for various applications such as water purification, heavy metals adsorption, gas storage, volatile organic compounds removal, dyes adsorption, and mercury scrubbing (Sharma et al 2022).…”

Immobilized Nanomaterials for Environmental Applications

“…The large specific surface area, high pore volume, hydrophobic nature, high electrical conductivity, chemical inertness, and vast chemical functionality enables the loading of NPs through the carbonaceous matrix for successful applications in environmental remediation, energy storage, and catalysis [ 89 , 96 , 97 ]. AC is one of the most frequently used adsorbents for the removal of numerous pollutants from water and air bodies, mainly due to its high specific surface area, reaching values of 2878 m 2 /g for chemical activation with KOH and 2213 m 2 /g for steam activation [ 98 ], a characteristic that renders them suitable for the immobilization of a variety of NPs [ 99 , 100 ]. In the same way, BC has emerged as a low-cost alternative for metal NP immobilization [ 101 ], including the environmental and economic benefits associated with the use of biomass waste materials instead of non-renewable sources for AC production [ 102 ].…”