Promoting the circular economy: Valorization of a residue from industrial char to activated carbon with potential environmental applications
Metadata
Show full item recordAuthor
Pereira Gómez, Ledicia; Castillo Ramos, Ventura; Calero De Hoces, Francisca Mónica; González Egido, Sergio; Martín Lara, María Ángeles; Rodríguez Solís, RafaelEditorial
Elsevier
Materia
Char Activated carbon Adsorption Carbon Dioxide Heavy metals Pharmaceuticals
Date
2024-04-20Referencia bibliográfica
L. Pereira et al. Promoting the circular economy: Valorization of a residue from industrial char to activated carbon with potential environmental applications. Journal of Environmental Management 356 (2024) 120753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120753
Sponsorship
MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 CPP 2021-008551; ERDF/EU; European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR; University of Granada; Universidad de Granada/CBUAAbstract
Pyrolysis of residues enriched with carbon, such as in agroforestry or industrial activities, has been postulated as an emerging technology to promote the production of biofuels, contributing to the circular economy and minimizing waste. However, during the pyrolysis processes a solid fraction residue is generated. This work aims to study the viability of these chars to develop porous carbonaceous materials that can be used for environmental applications. Diverse chars discharged by an industrial pyrolysis factory have been activated with KOH. Concretely, the char residues came from the pyrolysis of olive stone, pine, and acacia splinters, spent residues fuel, and cellulose artificial casings. The changes in the textural, structural, and composition characteristics after the activation process were studied by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy, FTIR, elemental analysis, and XPS. A great porosity was developed, SBET within 776–1186 m2 g−1 and pore volume of 0.37–0.59 cm3 g−1 with 70–90% of micropores contribution. The activated chars were used for the adsorption of CO2, leading to CO2 maximum uptakes of 90–130 mg g−1. There was a good correlation between the CO2 uptake with microporosity and oxygenated surface groups of the activated chars. Moreover, their ability to adsorption of contaminants in aqueous solution was also evaluated. Concretely, there was studied the adsorption of aqueous heavy metals, i.e., Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, and organic pollutants of emerging concern such as caffeine, diclofenac, and acetaminophen.