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Herein, a novel sulfur-doped carbon material has been synthesized via a facile and sustainable single-step pyrolysis method using lignin-sulfonate (LS), a by-product of the sulfite pulping process, as a novel carbon precursor and zinc chloride as a chemical activator. The sulfur doping process had a remarkable impact on the LS-sulfur carbon structure. Moreover, it was found that sulfur doping also had an important impact on sodium diclofenac removal from aqueous solutions due to the introduction of S-functionalities on the carbon material's surface. The doping process effectively increased the carbon specific surface area (SSA), i.e., 1758 m2 g−1 for the sulfur-doped and 753 m2 g−1 for the non-doped carbon. The sulfur-doped carbon exhibited more sulfur states/functionalities than the non-doped, highlighting the successful chemical modification of the material. As a result, the adsorptive performance of the sulfur-doped carbon was remarkably improved. Diclofenac adsorption experiments indicated that the kinetics was better described by the Avrami fractional order model, while the equilibrium studies indicated that the Liu model gave the best fit. The kinetics was much faster for the sulfur-doped carbon, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 301.6 mg g−1 for non-doped and 473.8 mg g−1 for the sulfur-doped carbon. The overall adsorption seems to be a contribution of multiple mechanisms, such as pore filling and electrostatic interaction. When tested to treat lab-made effluents, the samples presented excellent performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an easy and sustainable method to prepare high-sorption capacity biobased adsorbents from wood waste. A biomass wood waste (spruce bark) was employed to fabricate a composite doped with Si and Mg and applied to adsorb an emerging contaminant (Omeprezole) from aqueous solutions, as well as synthetic effluents loaded with several emerging contaminants. The effects of Si and Mg doping on the biobased material's physicochemical properties and adsorptive performance were evaluated. Si and Mg did not influence the specific surface area values but impacted the presence of the higher number of mesopores. The kinetic and equilibrium data presented the best fitness by the Avrami Fractional order (AFO) and Liu isotherm models, respectively. The values of Qmax ranged from 72.70 to 110.2 mg g−1 (BP) and from 107.6 to 249.0 mg g−1 (BTM). The kinetic was faster for Si/Mg-doped carbon adsorbent, possibly due to different chemical features provoked by the doping process. The thermodynamic data showed that the adsorption of OME on biobased adsorbents was spontaneous and favorable at four studied temperatures (283, 293, 298, 303, 308, 313, and 318 K), with the magnitude of the adsorption correspondent to a physical adsorption process (ΔH° < 2 kJ mol−1). The adsorbents were applied to treat synthetic hospital effluents and exhibited a high percentage of removal (up to 62%). The results of this work show that the composite between spruce bark biomass and Si/Mg was an efficient adsorbent for OME removal. Therefore, this study can help open new strategies for developing sustainable and effective adsorbents to tackle water pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposes a facile methodology for producing porous biochar material (ABC) from açaí kernel residue, produced by chemical impregnation with ZnCl2 (1:1) and pyrolysis at 650.0 °C. The characterization was achieved using several techniques, and the biochar material was employed as an adsorbent to remove catechol. The results show that ABC carbon has hydrophilic properties. The specific surface area and total pore volume are 1315 m2·g−1 and 0.7038 cm3·g−1, respectively. FTIR revealed the presence of oxygenated groups, which can influence catechol adsorption. The TGA/DTG indicated that the sample is thermally stable even at 580 °C. Adsorption studies showed that equilibrium was achieved in <50 min and the Avrami kinetic model best fits the experimental data, while Freundlich was observed to be the best-fitted isotherm model. Catechol adsorption on ABC biochar is governed by van der Waals forces and microporous and mesoporous filling mechanisms. The Qmax is 339.5 mg·g−1 (40 °C) with 98.36% removal of simulated effluent, showing that açaí kernel is excellent biomass to prepare good biochar that can be efficiently used to treat real industrial effluents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare earth elements such as neodymium (Nd) are important elements used mainly in developing new technologies. Although they are found in low concentrations in nature, they can be obtained by extracting solid samples such as phosphogypsum. Among the techniques, adsorption has been used successfully with several adsorbent materials. In this work, two strains of Spirulina platensis (LEB-18 and LEB-52) were employed as biosorbents for efficiently removing the Nd element from the aqueous media. Biosorption tests were carried out in a batch system, and the results of the biosorption kinetics showed that for both materials, the biosorption of Nd was better described by the Avrami model. Moreover, it could be considered that 80 min would be necessary to attain the equilibrium of Nd(III) using both biosorbents. The result of the biosorption isotherms showed that for both strains, the best-fitted model was the Liu model, having a maximum biosorption capacity of 72.5 mg g−1 for LEB-18 and 48.2 mg g−1 for LEB-52 at a temperature of 298 K. Thermodynamics of adsorption showed that for both LEB-18 and LEB-52 the process was favorable (∆G° < 0) and exothermic (∆H° −23.2 for LEB-18 and ∆H° −19.9 for LEB-52). Finally, both strains were suitable to uptake Nd, and the better result of LEB-18 could be attributed to the high amount of P and S groups in this biomass. Based on the results, a mechanism of electrostatic attraction of Nd3+ and phosphate and sulfate groups of both strains of Spirulina platensis was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avocado seed activated carbon (ASAC) was synthesized by microwave-heating process using ZnCl2 as an activating agent. The adsorbent ASAC was characterized using analytical techniques namely N2 isotherms, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The surface area of ASAC was 1,432 m² g–1. The ASAC prepared was used for adsorption of resorcinol and 3-aminophenol from aqueous solutions. Kinetic models namely pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and Avrami fractional order and isotherms (Freundlich, Langmuir, and Liu) were applied to the experimental adsorption data. The results demonstrate maximum adsorption capacity for resorcinol (406.9 mg g–1) and 3-aminophenol (454.5 mg g–1) at 50°C. The thermodynamic analysis of data and the effect of temperature studies revealed that the adsorption processes of resorcinol and 3-aminophenol onto ASAC were temperature dependent. The adsorption processes were exothermic and spontaneous. The avocado carbon displayed excellent adsorption properties for the simulated effluents containing phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, SiO2/Nb2O5(SiNb) material was prepared using sol–gel method and employed as adsorbent for removal of crystal violet dye (CV). The material was characterized using nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms, FTIR spectroscopy, pHpzc, and SEM-EDS. The analysis of N2isotherms revealed the presence of micro- and mesopores in the SiNb sample with specific surface area as high as 747 m2 g−1. For the CV adsorption process, variations of several parameters such as of pH, temperature, contact time, and concentration of dye of the process were evaluated. The optimum initial pH of the CV dye solution was 7.0. The adsorption kinetic and equilibrium data for CV adsorption were suitably represented by the general-order and Liu models, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of the CV dye by SiNb was achieved at 303 K, which attained 116 mg g−1at this temperaure. Dye effluents were simulated and used to check the applicability of the SiNb material for treatment of effluents – the material showed very good efficiency for decolorization of dye effluents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative treatments, such as, NaOH, ultrasound assisted (UA) and supercritical CO2 (SCO2), were performed to improve the potential of rice husk as adsorbent to remove methylene blue (MB) from aqueous media. All the treatments improved the surface characteristics of rice husk, exposing its organic fraction and/or providing more adsorption sites. The Langmuir and Hill models were able to explain the MB adsorption for all adsorbents in all studied temperatures. The experimental and modeled parameters demonstrated that the MB adsorption was favored by the temperature increase and by the use of NaOH-rice husk. The maximum adsorption capacities for the MB solutions (ranging from 10 to 100 mg L-1), estimated from the Langmuir model at 328 K, were in the following order: NaOH rice-husk (65.0 mg g-1)>UA-rice husk (58.7 mg g-1)>SCO2-rice husk (56.4 mg g-1)> raw rice husk (52.2 mg g-1). The adsorption was a spontaneous, favorable and endothermic process. In general, this work demonstrated that NaOH, UA and SCO2 treatments are alternatives to improve the potential of rice husk as adsorbent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, Norway spruce bark was used as a precursor to prepare activated biochars (BCs) via chemical activation with potassium hydroxide (KOH) as a chemical activator. A Box–Behnken design (BBD) was conducted to evaluate and identify the optimal conditions to reach high specific surface area and high mass yield of BC samples. The studied BC preparation parameters and their levels were as follows: pyrolysis temperature (700, 800, and 900 °C), holding time (1, 2, and 3 h), and ratio of the biomass: chemical activator of 1: 1, 1.5, and 2. The planned BBD yielded BC with extremely high SSA values, up to 2209 m2·g−1. In addition, the BCs were physiochemically characterized, and the results indicated that the BCs exhibited disordered carbon structures and presented a high quantity of O-bearing functional groups on their surfaces, which might improve their adsorption performance towards organic pollutant removal. The BC with the highest SSA value was then employed as an adsorbent to remove Evans blue dye (EB) and colorful effluents. The kinetic study followed a general-order (GO) model, as the most suitable model to describe the experimental data, while the Redlich–Peterson model fitted the equilibrium data better. The EB adsorption capacity was 396.1 mg·g−1. The employment of the BC in the treatment of synthetic effluents, with several dyes and other organic and inorganic compounds, returned a high percentage of removal degree up to 87.7%. Desorption and cyclability tests showed that the biochar can be efficiently regenerated, maintaining an adsorption capacity of 75% after 4 adsorption–desorption cycles. The results of this work pointed out that Norway spruce bark indeed is a promising precursor for producing biochars with very promising properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four magnetic biochars (MBs) were prepared from two mixtures of Sappeli sawdust with NiCl 2 solution or Sappeli sawdust with NiCl 2 plus ZnCl 2 solutions. These mixtures formed two pastes that were dried and further pyrolyzed at 700 °C under nitrogen flow. The pyrolyzed material was leached out with 0.1 M HCl under conventional reflux (AL- 80 °C, 2 h) or assisted by ultrasound-leaching (US- 15 min, 600 W), obtaining four biochars: SNiAL, SNiUS, SNiZnAL, SNiZnUS. The biochars were characterized by VSM, XRD, FTIR, isotherms of adsorption and desorption of nitrogen, pH pzc , hydrophobically characteristics (HI), TGA, elemental analysis (CHN/O). The data show that using the leaching process assisted by ultrasound can obtain biochars that present good magnetization saturation, with a lower leaching time than conventional leaching. The four biochar were tested as adsorbents to remove ten emerging contaminants and four dyes of aqueous effluents. It was observed that the impregnation of zinc chloride in the samples led to an increase in the surface areas of the magnetic biochars, which influenced the most of sorption capacities of the adsorbents for the different sorbing species. Making a ratio of sorption capacities of SNiAL/SNiZnAL and SNiUS/SNiZnUS, it was obtained the values, respectively, of 0.9761, and 0.9710 (Acid Red 1), 2.057, and 3.030 (Reactive Blue 4), 4.192, and 1.971 (Basic Violet 3), 3.359, and 1.129 (Basic Green 1), 1.673, and 1.835 (Paracetamol), 3.612, and 3.779 (Propranolol), 5.871, and 5.171 (Sodium Diclofenac), 1.457, and 1.607 (Nicotinamide), 1.094 and 1.093 (Caffeine), 1.167, and 2.398 (4-chloroaniline), 1.009 and 0.9965 (2-nitrophenol), 1.156 and 1.341 (Resorcinol), 1.299 and 1.331 (Hydroquinone), 0.9975 and 1.019 (4-bromophenol). [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Removal of captopril pharmaceutical from synthetic pharmaceutical-industry wastewaters. • ZnCl 2 -activated carbon (ABc-600) prepared from Butia catarinensis. • ABc-600 removed up to 99.0 % of synthetic pharmaceutical-industry wastewaters. • The maximum sorption capacity of ABc-600 was 717.2 mg g−1. • The mechanism of adsorption was explored. A high surface area activated carbon was produced from the seed of Butia catarinensis (Bc), which was utilized for removing captopril from synthetic pharmaceutical industry wastewaters. The activated carbon was made by mixing ZnCl 2 and Bc at a proportion of 1:1 and pyrolyzed at 600° (ABc-600). The material was characterized by the Boehm titration, hydrophilic/ hydrophobic ratio, elemental analysis, TGA, FTIR, and N 2 isotherm (surface area (S BET), total pore volume (TPV), and pore size distribution (PSD)). The characterization data showed that the adsorbent displayed a hydrophilic surface due to the presence of several polar groups. The carbon material presented a TPV of 0.392 cm3 g−1, and S BET of 1267 m2 g−1. The equilibrium and kinetics data were suitably fitted to Liu isotherm and Avrami-fractional-order. The employment of the ABc-600 in the treatment of synthetic pharmaceutical industry wastewater exhibited high effectiveness in their removals (up to 99.0 %). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete slurry is an abundant, cheap, and commonly found waste all over the world where construction activities take place; concrete slurry, which is rich in calcium and metallic oxides, could be successfully employed in the phosphate (P) removal from aqueous media. For the first time, the effect of the carbonation process on concrete adsorbent properties and how it can influence on the removal of phosphate ions in aqueous media are studied. Besides, the potential applicability of P loaded concrete adsorbent is also evaluated. The results showed that a non-carbonated sample was more effective in the P removal, due to higher releasing of calcium (Ca2+) in comparison to carbonated sample. The dissolved Ca2+ from the dissolution of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH) 2), calcium carbonate (CaCO 3), and calcium oxide (CaO) are preferably precipitated by phosphates in high pH solution, reflecting in a high initial adsorption rate. General order kinetic and Liu isotherm provided better-fitting models for the adsorption behavior of P onto both non-carbonated and carbonated concrete samples. Phosphate removal was mainly ruled by chemical adsorption through inner-sphere complexation and P precipitation on the surface of the adsorbent containing Ca2+ as an essential ion in the adsorption mechanism. Compared with other phosphate adsorbents, both non-carbonated and carbonated concrete showed to be economical and efficient adsorbent. The non-carbonated sample gave a high adsorption capacity of P (47.6 mg g−1) and presenting fast and high initial adsorption, reaching 72% of P removal within 5 min (min) at 22 °C, while carbonated showed adsorption capacity of 30.6 mg g−1, at the same experimental conditions. Therefore, concrete slurries can be used widely as an inexpensive phosphate-recovery adsorbent. Besides, the application of these P loaded waste as potential fertilizers in soil can be an exciting and environmentally approach for reusing this solid-waste. The environmental analysis highlighted that the adsorbents did not leach out chemicals above the allowable limits, preconized by The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for irrigation waters. However, aspects related to monitoring the presence and mobility of heavy metals on soil must be better addressed and monitored. Image 1 • The effect of the concrete carbonation on adsorption properties was investigated. • Non-carbonated concrete presented better adsorption properties. • The dissolved Ca2+ played an important role in the phosphate adsorption. • Non-carbonated and carbonated were efficient adsorbents for phosphate adsorption. • The P loaded concrete could be applied as potential fertilizers in soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Particle size variation plays a key role in jigging performance, and despite extensive research in the area, very little attention has been given in the case of pneumatic jigging. The aim of this study was to look into particle stratification in a pilot-scale pneumatic jig when varying the particle size and the range of the particle size distribution in ternary mixtures of aggregates. Jigging tests were especially designed to reduce contamination of jig products and a stratification index was elaborated to evaluate stratification efficiency. Experimental results provided compelling evidences that widening the particle size distribution of the system or using beds composed of particles of smaller sizes can enhance stratification by density. Similarly, smaller particles showed a remarkable tendency to concentrate in the upper zones of the stratified bed, whereas larger particles tended to concentrate more in lower zones. The obtained results suggest that particular operating features of pneumatic jigging together with differential packing effects should play a decisive role in the stratification extent of beds formed by particles of different sizes. Experimental results are of practical importance since, among other benefits, they point to the possibility to increase pneumatic jigging performance in some cases by using wider size distributions of the feed, thus reducing the need of prior stages of narrow size classification. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Stratification efficiency increased with decreasing particle size class. • Stratification efficiency increased with expanding particle size distribution. • The use of wider size distribution improved recovery of larger heavier particles. • Packing effects had an important influence on stratification efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural clay was grafted with 3-aminopropyl-trietoxisilane (APTES) for obtaining an organic-inorganic hybrid material. This material was successfully used as adsorbent for removal of Acid Red 1 (AR-1) and Acid Green 25 (AG-25) anionic dyes from aqueous solutions. This work demonstrates the effect of APTES concentration on the hydrophobic/hydrophilic characteristics and optical properties of the amino-functionalized materials. The adsorption capacity of the resultant hybrid materials were studied using anionic dyes. The physico-chemical properties of the materials was determined by several analytical techniques. It appears that the modified samples were more hydrophilic than the natural clay for ratios from 1.0 up to 2.0, due to the presence of amino group (—NH 2 ) located at the end of the chain. The characterization data showed that APTES was successfully grafted on to the external as well as interlayer and broken edges of montmorillonite. Transmission electron microscopic images confirmed that the morphology of amino-functionalized material changed from sheet-like in the natural clay material to a conglobulated structure. The amino-functionalized material exhibited a surface area 6-times (S BET = 13.31 m 2 /g) lower than natural clay (S BET = 86.10 m 2 g −1 ; V tol = 0.126 cm 3 g −1 and D p = 4.72 nm). The total pore volume (V tol = 0.041 cm 3 g −1 ) and average pore diameter (D p = 10.2 nm) was found to be 2-times lower than clay. Adsorption followed the general-order kinetic model for both dyes. Liu isotherm model was observed to be best fit and it displayed Q max as 364.1 and 397.0 mg g −1 for AR-1 and AG-25, respectively at 50.0 °C. Electrostatic interaction was the main mechanism involved in the adsorption process. The Mrt-APTES 0.5 seemed to be a good adsorbent for the treatment of synthetic effluents. The removal percentage of effluent A and B were 97.94% and 95.94%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, avocado seed was successfully used as raw material for producing activated carbons by conventional pyrolysis. In order to determine the best condition to produce the activated carbons, a 2 2 full-factorial design of experiment (DOE) with three central points was employed by varying the temperature and time of pyrolysis. The two evaluated factors (temperature and time of pyrolysis) strongly influenced the S BET , pore volumes, hydrophobicity-hydrophilicity ratio (HI) and functional groups values; both factors had a negative effect over S BET , pore volumes and functional groups which means that increasing the values of factors leads to decrease of these responses; on the other hand, with regards to HI, both factors caused a positive effect which means that increasing their values, the HI has an enhancement over its values. The produced activated carbon exhibited high specific surface areas in the range of 1122-1584 m 2  g -1 . Surface characterisation revealed that avocado seed activated carbons (ASACs) have hydrophilic surfaces and have predominantly acidic groups on their surfaces. The prepared ASACs were employed in the adsorption of 25 emerging organic compounds such as 10 pharmaceuticals and 15 phenolic compounds which presented high uptake values for all emerging pollutants. It was observed that the activated carbon prepared at higher temperature of pyrolysis (700 °C), which generated less total functional groups and presented higher HI, was the activated carbon with higher sorption capacity for uptaking emerging organic contaminants. Based on results of this work, it is possible to conclude that avocado seed can be employed as a raw material to produce high surface area and very efficient activated carbons in relation to treatment of polluted waters with emerging organic pollutants.

Natural pozzolan is an amorphous silicate-based material of volcanic origin. In this work, the natural pozzolan was modified by using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) as a grafting agent. This material was characterized by pH pzc , N 2 adsorption/desorption curves, FTIR, TGA/DTG, DRUV, SEM, and elementary analysis. The functionalized materials were used for the removal of Reactive Black 5 (RB-5) and Brilliant Green 1 (BG-1) dyes from aqueous solutions using batch-contact adsorption. The characterization of modified pozzolan by FTIR, TGA/DTG, BET, and DRUV-vis revealed the effectiveness of grafting of amine functional group on pozzolan structure. The kinetic adsorption data were better fitted with general order for both dyes while for equilibrium models were better fitted by the Liu isotherm model. The maximum sorption capacities Q max (at 50 °C) obtained with the modified pozzolan were 350.6 and 300.9 mg g -1 for BG-1 and RB-5, at pH 9.0 and 2.0, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters show that the removal of dyes was spontaneous and endothermic. The modified material was also tested for the treatment of simulated dye house effluents showing very high efficiency.