Cationic dyes adsorption onto high surface area 'almond shell' activated carbon: Kinetics, equilibrium isotherms and surface statistical modeling

Almond shell agricultural biomass was used to prepare high surface area activated carbon using potassium hydroxide as activating agent. The activated carbon (AC) was characterized using X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction, Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses, Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and Raman spectroscopy. The AC was found to have a high surface area of 2054 m(2) g(-1). The influence of various key parameters was evaluated on the adsorption process including contact time, adsorbent dose and solution pH. Isotherm data were modeled using Langmuir and Freundlich models. Langmuir isotherm model presented the best fit to experimental data suggesting homogeneous distribution of adsorption sites. The adsorbent demonstrated high monolayer adsorption capacity of 833.33 and 625.0 mg/g for Methylene Blue and Crystal Violet, respectively. The efficiency of the adsorption process was linked to the micro-mesoporous structure and to the availability of the surface adsorption sites. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the removal efficiency from aqueous solution. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.