Comparison of Activated Carbon and Pyrolyzed Biomass for Removal of Humic Acid From Aqueous Solution

Abstract

The pyrolysis of sewage sludge (SS) and olive mill waste (OMW) was carried out under nitrogen atmosphere and analyzed thermogravimetric and scanning electron microscopy micrographs. Removal capacity of pyrolyzed cokes was measured by humic acid solution. Humic substances can react with chlorine to produce carcinogens in drinking water. Activated carbon can be used as an effective treatment method to remove humic substances from water to prior to disinfection by chlorination. Olive mill waste, an agricultural byproduct and sewage sludge were used to produce activated carbon by pyrolysis with the addition of zinc chloride to enhance the reaction. Activated carbon was also produced using olive mill waste and sewage sludge. Both of them were compared to a commercially-available activated carbon product. Optimum pyrolysis conditions and concentration of the activating agent were identified. The equilibrium parameter model of the Freundlich isotherm and Langmuir isotherm was applied to the adsorption data, and the efficiency of pyrolyzed coke was determined. Activated carbon produced from olive waste material had a lower specific surface area (437.92 m 2 /g) than activated carbon produced from sewage sludge (814.48 m 2 /g). While both of these were lower than the surface area of a commercially activated carbon, the latter fell within the expected range of commercial products, thus suggesting an effective means of producing activated carbon while reducing sewage waste disposal costs.

Agricultural bio-waste materials as potential sustainable precursors used for activated carbon production: A review

“…The waste can be converted into activated carbon through pyrolysis under controlled conditions with or without some chemical activating agents [56,57]. The use of agricultural waste as activated carbon precursors has also been found to be renewable and relatively less expensive [45] and ultimately could utilize the waste effectively into wealth [58].…”

Adsorption of Humic Acid from Aqueous Solution on Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

“…It is as a result of increased number of adsorption sites for a certain level of adsorbate or HA. Initially, rapid increase in adsorption with the increase in adsorbent dose can be attributed to greater surface area and availability of more adsorption sites 5,10,13 . Adsorption isotherm experiments: Application of adsorption isotherms, which are used for description of interaction between adsorbent and adsorbate in various systems, is very useful.…”

“…Conventional treatment processes of drinking water remove only 20-50 % of HSs from water. Therefore, it is very critical to make use of a suitable process to remove the remaining humic acid from drinking water with high amounts of HAs prior to disinfection process 5,10 . Since removal of HSs from water is essential, several methods (e.g.…”

Surface Properties and Adsorption Capacities of Rice Bran-Activated Carbon

“…Dehydration is done to reduce the moisture content of raw materials. Carbonization is carried out by heating the raw material at a temperature of 400-850 O C [23] in order to form an initial porosity. Activation is a process to form new porosity, widen the porosity that has been formed during the carbonization process and can be done without involving agents (physical activation) and by involving agents (chemical activation).…”