Screening of factors that influence the preparation of Dialium guineense pods active carbon for use in methylene blue adsorption: a full factorial experimental design

Abstract

Background The use of active carbons derived from waste biomass as adsorbents in the remediation of wastewater remains a valuable and cost-effective technology when compared to the use of commercial active carbon for the same purpose. This research aims at using a 2-level full factorial design (FFD) to efficiently evaluate factors that influence the preparation of active carbon from the waste pods of the Dialium guineense seeds. The influence of three preparation factors (concentration of the activating agent, activation time, and type of activating agent) on the active carbon yield and its adsorption capacity for methylene blue were investigated. Based on the full factorial design, two regression models were developed to correlate the factors to the two responses. From an analysis of variance (ANOVA), the most significant factors influencing each response were identified. The active carbon preparation conditions were then optimized by maximizing both the active carbon yield and its adsorption capacity for Methylene Blue. The functional group and surface morphology of the active carbon prepared under the predicted optimum conditions was analyzed via Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) respectively. Results The results of this study revealed that the concentration of the activating agent had the most significant effect on the yield of the active carbon produced as well as on its adsorption capacity for methylene blue. The optimum preparation process conditions were found to be: concentration of activating agent 5M, activation time 30 min and activating agent, NaOH which resulted in an active carbon yield of 21.25%, and an adsorption capacity of 9.33509 mg MB per gram of active carbon. SEM and FTIR showed evidence of successful activation. Conclusion The preparation of Dialium guineense seed pods' active carbon is strongly influenced by concentration and type of activating agent used. Reliable statistical models based on the FFD proved to be useful in identifying factors that significantly influence the preparation of Dialium guineense seed pods' active carbon. The active carbon holds great potential for application in the elimination of hazardous synthetic dyes from wastewater and should be explored further.

Adsorption of methylene blue dye onto modified activated carbon produced from groundnut shells

“…The insignificant model terms were removed from the model equation in order to increase the R 2 value, so as to improve the fitting. Similar results have been reported by Jasper et al (2021). The magnitude of the coefficient B (activation time) as seen from the model equation, and its F value were highest indicating that the activation time had the most significant effect on the percentage MB adsorption.…”

Relationship between the Polymer Blend Using Chitosan, Polyethylene Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Polyvinylpyrrolidone, and Antimicrobial Activities against Staphylococcus aureus

“…The 2-level factorial design method can generate the Pareto charts (as shown in Figures S2 and S3), which illustrate the absolute magnitude of the impacts and include a benchmark line. Any impact that surpasses this benchmark line (vertical red dotted line) is considered statistically significant at the 95% confidence level [61,62].…”

Synthesis Optimization of Activated Carbon Driven from Scrap Tire for Adsorbent Yield and Methylene Blue Removal under Response Surface Methodology

“…e regression model equation was developed by removing the insignificant model terms. e model equation that is developed by three factors or twenty experiments for STAC yield and MB removal is described in equations ( 16) and (17), respectively. Yield(%) � −149.5 + 0.553T − 2.937IT + 72.06IR…”

“…Commercial activated carbon is well known for its high surface area and adsorption capacity. However, these adsorbents are expensive; therefore, they are not recommended for developing countries including Ethiopia [17,18].…”