Efficiency of activated carbon prepared from scrap tires magnetized by Fe3O4 nanoparticles: characterisation and its application for removal of reactive blue19 from aquatic solutions

Huge quantities of different dyes are generated by various industries such as cosmetic, leather, printing and textile and food. This study aimed to generate and apply tire-derived activated carbon magnetised with the Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MAC) for the removal of reactive blue 19 (RB19) dye from aquatic solutions. FE-SEM, VSM, XRD, FTIR and BET analyses were used to determine MAC properties. Under optimal conditions of pH 3, the initial concentration of dye 100 mg/L, the composite dose 1 g/L and the reaction time of 45 min, the removal efficiency for RB19 was 93.22%. Isotherm findings illustrated that RB19 adsorption onto the MAC followed the Langmuir model. Moreover, the absorption kinetics is well interpreted by the pseudo-second-order model in low scrutinised concentrations. The S-BET and total pure volume for the MAC were 421.11 m(2) g(-1) and 0.467 cm(3) g(-1). Under the optimum conditions, maximum adsorption capacity of the MAC in Langmuir model enhanced to the amount of 119.05 mg/g. Also, the reusability (with NaOH) of the MAC revealed about 21% decreases in the removal efficiency within five consecutive runs. It is concluded that the application of the magnetised activated carbon due to its high efficiency in removing RB19 from laboratory and actual samples can be evaluated in future studies to be utilised in real scales.

Automated summary

This study aimed to remove reactive blue 19 (RB19) dye from aquatic solutions using tire-derived activated carbon magnetised with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MAC). The removal efficiency for RB19 was found to be 93.22% under optimal conditions. Isotherm and kinetics studies showed that RB19 adsorption onto MAC followed the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model, respectively.