Elimination of anionic dye by using nanoporous carbon prepared from an industrial biowaste

The preparation of nanoporous carbon from tomato waste (TWNC), and its ability to remove Orange II (OII) dye were reported. The TWNC was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer Teller surface area (BET), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The effects of initial concentration, solution pH, adsorbent dosage and temperature were investigated. The kinetic data followed a pseudo-first order model. The mechanism of the process was determined from the intraparticle diffusion model. The isotherm analysis indicated that the adsorption data could be represented by the Langmuir model. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was determined as 312.5 mg g(-1), under determined optimum conditions of variables (pH 2.0, adsorbent dosage 0.1 g L-1, contact time 180 mm and temperature 50 degrees C). Thermodynamic study showed that the adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic. The results indicate that TWNC can be employed as low-cost alternative to expensive commercial activated carbon for treatment of industrial wastewater containing OIL. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.