Pomegranate peels collected from fresh juice shop as a renewable precursor for high surface area activated carbon with potential application for methylene blue adsorption

Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) peels were utilized as precursors to prepare mesoporous activated carbon (PPAC) via H3PO4 -activation method. The surface characterization of PPAC was achieved using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), N-2 adsorption/ desorption, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and the point of zero charge (pH(pzc)) method. It was found that PPAC a large surface area and total pore volume corresponded to 1280.45 m(2)/g and 1.343 cm(3)/g, respectively. The adsorption properties of PPAC with methylene blue (MB) was conducted at different adsorbent dose (0.2-3 g/L), solution pH (3-11), initial dye concentrations (50 mg/L-400 mg/L), contact time (0-135 min) using batch mode operation. The kinetic uptake profiles are well described by the pseudo-second-order model, while the Langmuir model describes the adsorption behaviour at equilibrium. The maximum adsorption capacity of PPAC with methylene blue was 384.61 mg/g at 303 K. Various thermodynamic parameters such as standard enthalpy (Delta H degrees), standard entropy (Delta S degrees) and standard free energy (Delta G degrees) showed that the adsorption of MB onto PPAC was favourable and endothermic in nature.