Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
Volume 26, Issue 36, Pages 37228-37241Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-06594-w
Keywords
Potato peelwaste; Biomass; Activated carbon; Carbon nanotubes; Pyrolysis; Multi-wall carbon nanotubes
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Funding
- Bryden Centre project - European Union's INTERREG VA Programme [VA5048]
- Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland
- Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation in the Republic of Ireland
- EPSRC [EP/S025545/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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Herein, activated carbon (AC) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesised from potato peel waste (PPW). Different ACs were synthesised via two activation steps: firstly, with phosphoric acid (designated PP) and then using potassium hydroxide (designated PK). The AC produced after the two activation steps showed a surface area as high as 833 m(2) g(-1) with a pore volume of 0.44 cm(3) g(-1), where the raw material of PPW showed a surface area < 4 m(2) g(-1). This can help aid and facilitate the concept of the circular economy by effectively up-cycling and valorising waste lignocellulosic biomass such as potato peel waste to high surface area AC and subsequently, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Consequently, MWCNTs were prepared from the produced AC by mixing it with the nitrogen-based material melamine and iron precursor, iron (III) oxalate hexahydrate. This produced hydrophilic multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with a water contact angle of theta = 14.97 degrees. Both AC and CNT materials were used in heavy metal removal (HMR) where the maximum lead absorption was observed for sample PK with a 84% removal capacity after the first hour of testing. This result signifies that the synthesis of these up-cycled materials can have applications in areas such as wastewater treatment or other conventional AC/CNT end uses with a rapid cycle time in a two-fold approach to improve the eco-friendly synthesis of such value-added products and the circular economy from a significant waste stream, i.e., PPW.
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