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Adsorption mechanism of metal ions on activated carbon

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Abstract

Environmental pollution, particularly that caused by the presence of heavy metals in wastewater, is a serious problem. Therefore, heavy metals should be prevented from reaching the natural environment or removed from polluted wastewater. Adsorption is a very economical, simple, effective, highly versatile process for removing harmful pollutants from wastewater. In this study, six commercial activated carbon (AC) samples were used to evaluate the adsorption of Pb2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+. We investigated the correlation between the adsorption of metal ions on AC and the pore or surface properties of AC. Large quantities of ions in the order [Pb2+] >> [Zn2+], [Ni2+] were adsorbed on all AC samples. The results showed that the Pb2+ adsorption capacity per unit Dubinin–Polanyi (DP) surface area (SDP) is correlated with the graphite/defect (G/D) ratio of AC; the G/D ratio was analyzed via Raman spectroscopy. The adsorbability of Pb2+ on AC per unit SDP was higher in AC with a larger G/D ratio. Moreover, we found that hard and soft acids and bases contribute to adsorption. The observed correlation facilitates the determination of the adsorption capacity of Pb2+ on AC using the G/D ratio without any adsorption test.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, Grant No. JP16K14461.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, The University of Tokushima, 2-1 Minamijosanjima, Tokushima, 770-8506, Japan

    Ayaka Kuroki, Megumi Hiroto, Yoshitomo Urushihara, Toshihide Horikawa & Ken-Ichiro Sotowa

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura Campus Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, 615-8510, Japan

    Jesús Rafael Alcántara Avila

Authors
  1. Ayaka Kuroki
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  2. Megumi Hiroto
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  3. Yoshitomo Urushihara
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  4. Toshihide Horikawa
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  5. Ken-Ichiro Sotowa
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  6. Jesús Rafael Alcántara Avila
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Correspondence to Toshihide Horikawa.

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Kuroki, A., Hiroto, M., Urushihara, Y. et al. Adsorption mechanism of metal ions on activated carbon. Adsorption 25, 1251–1258 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-019-00069-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10450-019-00069-7

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