Abstract
Excessive outflow of phosphate ions into closed water bodies such as lakes and sea coasts leads to water pollution due to eutrophication. In the present study, we attempted to prepare an activated carbon (AC) with excellent adsorption of phosphate ions. Polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibers with high nitrogen content were activated with zinc chloride to produce an AC, and finally, the AC was heat-treated at 950 °C to convert nitrogen species such as pyridinic nitrogen (N-6) and pyrrolic nitrogen (N-5) into quaternary nitrogen (N-Q). A sample impregnated with raw material and zinc chloride in a 1:4 weight ratio, activated at 850 °C for 60 min and then heat-treated at 950 °C for 10 min (8.5Z4(60)-9.5HT10) showed the highest phosphate ion adsorption of 0.38 mmol/g. The physical properties of the samples were evaluated by measuring TG–DTA, specific surface area, elemental analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that the phosphate ion adsorption increased with the increase in the proportion of N-Q in the total nitrogen species. The effect of Langmuir adsorption isotherm and equilibrium solution pH (pHe) was also investigated to evaluate the adsorption properties. At phosphate concentrations below 1.0 mmol/L, the phosphate ion adsorption amount was comparable to that of a commercial anion exchange resin (HP555), and the maximum phosphate ion adsorption amount was 0.4 mmol/g at a neutral pHe value of 6.0. Furthermore, the adsorbent showed 70% phosphate ion adsorption performance at a dosage of 0.1 g/L for even actual environmental water, indicating that it could be used in practice.
Trial registration number and date of registration: JEST D 21 01466 11th May 2021 , retrospectively registered.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bacelo H, Pintor A, Santos S, Boaventura R, Botelho C (2020) Performance and prospects of different adsorbents for phosphorus uptake and recovery from water. Chem Eng J 381:122566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.122566
Bektas TE, Angİn D, Gunes S (2018) Production and characterization of activated carbon prepared from orange pulp and utilization for the removal of phosphate ions. Fresenius Environ Bull 27:7973–7982
Dada AP, Olalekan AP, Olatunya AM, Dada O (2012) Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms studies of equilibrium sorption of Zn2+ unto phosphoric acid modified rice husk. IOSR J Appl Chem 3:38–45. https://doi.org/10.9790/5736-0313845
Fierro V, Torné-Fernández V, Montané D, Celzard A (2008) Adsorption of phenol onto activated carbons having different textural and surface properties. Microporous Mesoporous Mater 111:276–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micromeso.2007.08.002
Foo KY, Hameed BH (2010) Insights into the modeling of adsorption isotherm systems. Chem Eng J 156:2–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2009.09.013
Gonzalez JF, Roman S, Gonzalez-Garcia CM, Nabais JMV, Ortiz AL (2009) Porosity development in activated carbons prepared from walnut shells by carbon dioxide or steam activation. Ind Eng Chem Res 48:7474–7481. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie801848x
Hui TS, Zaini MAA (2015) Potassium hydroxide activation of activated carbon: a commentary. Carbon Lett 16:275–280. https://doi.org/10.5714/CL.2015.16.4.275
Kino K, Sakamoto T, Yuan J, Amano Y, Machida M (2020) Quaternary nitrogen functionalized carbonaceous adsorbents to remove nitrate from aqueous phase. Catal Today. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2020.06.036
Kubo T (1991) Recent developments in wastewater management in Japan. Water Sci Technol 23:19–28. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1991.0397
Ma Y (2017) Comparison of activated carbons prepared from wheat straw via ZnCl2 and KOH activation. Waste Biomass Valorization 8:549–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-016-9640-z
Machida M, Yoo P, Amano Y (2019) Adsorption of nitrate from aqueous phase onto nitrogen-doped activated carbon fibers (ACFs). SN Appl Sci 1:323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-019-0333-7
Mew MC (2016) Phosphate rock costs, prices and resources interaction. Sci Total Environ 542:1008–1012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.045
Miyazato T, Nuryono N, Kobune M, Rusdiarso B, Otomo R, Kamiya Y (2020) Phosphate recovery from an aqueous solution through adsorption-desorption cycle over thermally treated activated carbon. J Water Process Eng 36:101302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101302
Okada M, Murakami A, Lin CK, Ueno Y, Okubo T (1991) Population dynamics of bacteria for phosphorus removal in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) activated sludge processes. Water Sci Technol 23:755–763. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.1991.0526
Paerl HW (2009) Controlling eutrophication along the freshwater–marine continuum: dual nutrient (N and P) reductions are essential. Estuaries Coasts 32:593–601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9158-8
Pels JR, Kapteijn F, Moulijn JA, Zhu Q, Thomas KM (1995) Evolution of nitrogen functionalities in carbonaceous materials during pyrolysis. Carbon 33:1641–1653. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-6223(95)00154-6
Pereira RG, Veloso CM, Silva NM, Sousa LF, Bonomo RCF, Souza AO, Souza M, Fontan R (2014) Preparation of activated carbons from cocoa shells and siriguela seeds using H3PO4 and ZnCl2 as activating agents for BSA and α-lactalbumin adsorption. Fuel Process Technol 126:476–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2014.06.001
Pietrzak R, Wachowska H (2004) Thermal analysis of oxidised coals. Thermochim Acta 419:247–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2004.02.014
Rahaman MSA, Ismail AF, Mustafa A (2007) A review of heat treatment on polyacrylonitrile fiber. Polym Degrad Stab 92:1421–1432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2007.03.023
Sakamoto T, Amano Y, Machida M (2020) Phosphate ion adsorption properties of PAN-based activated carbon fibers prepared with K2CO3 activation. SN Appl Sci 2:702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2465-1
Samatya S, Kabay N, Yüksel Ü, Arda M, Yüksel M (2006) Removal of nitrate from aqueous solution by nitrate selective ion exchange resins. React Funct Polym 66:1206–1214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2006.03.009
Sayğılı H, Güzel F (2016) High surface area mesoporous activated carbon from tomato processing solid waste by zinc chloride activation: process optimization, characterization and dyes adsorption. J Clean Prod 113:995–1004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.12.055
Seckler MM, Leeuwen MLJ, Bruinsma SL, Rosmalen GM (1996) Posphate removal in a fluidized bed-II. Process Optim Water Res 30:1589–1596. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1354(96)00017-6
Toner JD, Catling DC (2020) A carbonate-rich lake solution to the phosphate problem of the origin of life. PNAS 117:883–888. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916109117
Yamazaki Y, Gettongsong T, Mikawa M, Amano Y, Machida M (2016) Adsorptive removal of phosphate from water by ammonia gas activated polyacrylonitrile fiber. J Fiber Sci Technol 72:237–243. https://doi.org/10.2115/fiberst.fiberst.2016-0035
Yoo P, Amano Y, Machida M (2018) Adsorption of nitrate onto nitrogen-doped activated carbon fibers prepared by chemical vapor deposition. Korean J Chem Eng 35:2468–2473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-018-0151-4
Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (KAKENHI Grant No. JP20K05187). The authors thank the center for analytical instrumentation Chiba University for supporting elemental analysis. They are also grateful to Prof. Dr. Fumio Imazeki, the head of Safety and Health Organization, Chiba University, for his financial support on our study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Editorial responsibility: Samareh Mirkia.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Matsuzawa, F., Amano, Y. & Machida, M. Phosphate ion adsorption characteristics of PAN-based activated carbon prepared by zinc chloride activation. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 8159–8168 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03695-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03695-3