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[Display omitted] • • Porous carbon material (PMPC) was prepared from cane molasses as carbon source. • • PMPC shows excellent adsorption capacity for melanoidins in cane juice (550.00 mg/g). • • Two novel mass transfer resistance models were applied to elaborate the micro-mechanisms. • • The chemisorption and physisorption rates were accurately quantified throughout the adsorption process. • • Chemisorption is the main adsorption mechanism followed by other weak interactions. Sugar industry is an integral part of the food and agriculture sector of the national economy. Cane juice decolourisation is a crucial process in sugar production that directly impacts the final colour value of the sugar. However, the chemicals used in traditional methods may be harmful for food safety. Thus, advanced and effective alternatives methods should be developed to further address the problems on sugar production and quality. In this study, polyethyleneimine-functionalised molasses - based porous carbon (PMPC) was prepared from cane molasses, and was reversely applied to remove melanoidins from cane juice. The melanoidin removal efficiency by PMPC was 91.66% with the adsorption capacity of 550.00 mg/g in the adsorption equilibrium state. From the adsorption thermodynamics analysis, the adsorption process of melanoidins onto PMPC was spontaneous and endothermic. Analysis of the interaction mechanisms demonstrated that the successful adsorption of melanoidins by PMPC was mainly achieved through the electrostatic interations and other weak interactions (hydron-bond interaction), and a melanoidin molecule can be bonded with three to four protonated amine groups of PMPC. In addition, the mass transfer behaviour of the melanoidins adsorbed onto PMPC was determined using the mixed model of external and internal diffusion resistance, and the active-onto-site adsorption model. The results showed the melanoidins adsorbed by PMPC was a multilayer adsorption process dominated by chemisorption. Therefore, PMPC was proved to be an ideal adsorbent for cane juice decolourisation, with the advantages of green, high efficiency, and recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel syrup decolorizer with self floatability (EHGM/PDA/PEI) is fabricated and characterized. • EHGM/PDA/PEI has developed 3D-network porous structure and excellent adsorption performance. • EHGM/PDA/PEI represented great biocompatibility compare favourably with rice. • Adsorption mass transfer process can be described comprehensively by phenomenological models. • IGM analysis supplemented the interaction mechanism of EHGM/PDA/PEI and caramel docking. A polyethyleneimine/polydopamine-functionalized self-floating microsphere (EHGM/PDA/PEI) bears an etched hollow glass microsphere as a support, polydopamine as an interfacial cross-linking "glue", and polyethyleneimine as a functional monomer was fabricated and used as a decolorization sorbent for sugarcane juice. The advantages of EHGM/PDA/PEI for sugarcane juice decolorization were attributed to its richness of target polyethyleneimine monomers, well-connected and abundant three-dimensional network-like aperture structure, and nontoxicity. Moreover, EHGM/PDA/PEI has excellent self-floating performance to allow separation from the adsorption system after decolorization and may have a faster separation speed and lower energy consumption than conventional solid–liquid separation methods. Synthetic caramels were used as model colorants of sugarcane juice to assess EHGM/PDA/PEI performance. The adsorption capacity of EHGM/PDA/PEI for caramels was 18.36 mg/g with a removal efficiency of 91.80% in the adsorption equilibrium state. The interaction mechanisms revealed that the caramel adsorption on EHGM/PDA/PEI was mostly mediated by protonated amine groups, followed by electron sharing. Two layers of caramels adhered onto EHGM/PDA/PEI were mainly mediated by electrovalent bonds between carboxylate and protonated amine. On average, one caramel molecule can be shared by 3–4 protonated amine groups of EHGM/PDA/PEI, which suggests a parallel sorption orientation. Four phenomenological mass transfer models [external diffusion resistance (EXTDR), internal diffusion resistance (INTDR), EXTDR–INTDR mixed, and adsorption onto active sites (AOAS)] proposed new and unique insights into the dynamic properties of the adsorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pomelo peel was creatively converted into environmental remediation adsorbent. • Novel PEI-PPA efficiently eliminates melanoidins from spent wash. • Interpretation of adsorption mechanism was via phenomenological models. • The micro-interaction was deciphered by molecular simulation. Melanoidins are recalcitrant colouring and polluting polymers present in the effluent streams of molasses-based distilleries. Adsorption is the most prospective technology with ease of operation and high efficiency. Herein, the removal of melanoidins from spent wash was investigated by synthesising a polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalised pomelo-peel (PP) derived aerogel (PEI-PPA). The PEI-PPA is distinguished by the porous network structure and abundant accessible functional groups (mainly protonated primary amine) that are conducive to the elimination of colouring contaminants (melanoidins). The incorporation of PEI into supporting matrices (i.e., PP–derived aerogel) effectively improved the melanoidin adsorption capacity (from a previous-best research of 230 mg/g to the current 615.70 mg/g), while the melanoidin removal rate reached 92.36 %. The independent gradient model and Hirshfeld surface analysis were used to investigated the possible electroweak interaction relationship between PEI-PPA and melanoidin. By analysing the number of melanoidin molecules bonded to each active site using a novel double-layer adsorption model, a mixed inclination (parallel and non-parallel orientation) of melanoidin onto the PEI-PPA surface was found. For the two mass transfer models fitted results, the adsorption onto the active sites (AOAS) model better described the behaviour of melanoidin adsorption by PEI-PPA than the external diffusion resistance–internal diffusion resistance (EDR–IDR) mixed model under the same conditions, revealing the AOAS was rate-controlling during the mass transfer process. AOAS both contained chemisorption and physisorption. The calculated rates of chemisorption were far higher than those of physisorption before equilibration, indicating chemisorption was main the rate-determining step. Altogether, this work proposed an effective conversion for PP into bio-adsorbent and provided a detailed analysis of mass transfer mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]