Use of activated carbon obtained from sugarcane straw for PAH adsorption-a comparative study with commercial materials

This work evaluates the performance of activated carbon obtained from sugarcane straw (SCAC) as an adsorbent for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in model wastewater. Two commercial samples of activated carbons with different textural properties were also studied for comparison. The activated carbon prepared from sugarcane straw presents a well-developed porosity with a high surface area, which was comparable to that of one of the commercial samples studied. For all the studied carbons, adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics, and the higher rate constants were found for theSCACsample for the four PAHs. Sips and Hill isotherms best fitted the adsorption equilibrium data of the PAHs on all activated carbons investigated. The activated carbon obtained from sugarcane straw (SCAC) presented a higher adsorption capacity (2.08 mmol g(-1)for naphthalene, 1.26 mmol g(-1)for fluorene, 1.14 mmol g(-1)for phenanthrene, and 0.98 mmol g(-1)for fluoranthene) when compared to the commercial carbon samples studied in this work as well as for those related in the literature. It confirms that its use ofSCACas an adsorbent for PAHs is a promising application for the valorization of this biomass waste.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the performance of activated carbon obtained from sugarcane straw as an adsorbent for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in model wastewater. The results show that the sugarcane straw activated carbon has a well-developed porosity and high adsorption capacity, and the adsorption follows pseudo-second-order kinetics. The study confirms the potential application of the sugarcane straw activated carbon as a promising adsorbent for PAHs.