Fabrication of N-doping activated carbons from fish waste and sawdust for Acid Yellow 36 dye removal from an aquatic environment

Acid Yellow 36 (AY36) dye is a synthetic azo dye that is excessively used in various industries, causing hazardous environmental effects. The main target of this study is the preparation of self-N-doped porous activated carbon (NDAC) and the investigation in eliminating the AY36 dye from the water solution. The NDAC was prepared by mixing fish waste (60% protein content) which was considered a self-nitrogen dopant. A combination of Fish waste, sawdust, zinc chloride and urea with a mass ratio (5:5:5:1) was submitted to hydrothermal process at 180 degrees C for 5 h followed by pyrolysis for 1 h under N-2 stream at 600, 700, and 800 degrees C. Fabricated NDAC was qualified as an adsorbent for recovering AY36 dye from water using batch trials. The fabricated NDAC samples were characterized by FTIR, TGA, DTA, BET, BJH, MP, t-plot, SEM, EDX, and XRD methods. The results showed the successful formation of NDAC with nitrogen mass percentage content (4.21, 8.13 and 9.85%). The NDAC prepared at 800 degrees C had the largest nitrogen content (9.85%) and was labeled as NDAC800. This later had 727.34 m(2)/g, 167.11 cm(3)/g, and 1.97 nm for specific surface area, the monolayer volume and the mean pores diameter respectively. By being the more efficient adsorbent, NDAC800 was chosen to test AY36 dye removal. Therefore, it is selected to investigate the removal of AY36 dye from aqueous solution by varying important parameters such as solution pH, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dosage and contact time. The removal of AY36 dye by NDAC800 was pH-dependent, with the optimum pH value 1.5 giving 85.86% removal efficiency and 232.56 mg/g maximum adsorption capacity (Q(m)). The kinetic data exhibited the best fit model with the pseudo-second-order (PSOM), while the equilibrium data fit well with the Langmuir (LIM) and Temkin (TIM). The mechanism of AY36 dye adsorption may be ascribed to the electrostatic contact between the dye and the available charged sites on NDAC800 surface. The prepared NDAC800 may be considered as an efficient, available, and eco-friendly adsorbent for AY36 dye adsorption from simulated water.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the use of self-nitrogen-doped porous activated carbon (NDAC) to eliminate Acid Yellow 36 (AY36) dye from water solutions. NDAC was prepared by mixing fish waste, sawdust, zinc chloride, and urea and subjecting them to hydrothermal and pyrolysis processes. The prepared NDAC samples were characterized, and the NDAC800 sample with the highest nitrogen content (9.85%) was selected for AY36 dye removal. The results showed that NDAC800 had an 85.86% removal efficiency and a maximum adsorption capacity of 232.56 mg/g. The adsorption mechanism was attributed to the electrostatic interaction between the dye and the charged sites on NDAC800 surface. NDAC800 proved to be an efficient and eco-friendly adsorbent for AY36 dye adsorption.