Environmental and Toxicology Management (ETM)
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2021): Developing and implementing green technologies for environmental management

Activated carbon and biochar from pineapple waste biomass for the removal of methylene blue

Khoirun Nisa Mahmud (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia)
Tan Hui Wen (Department of Bioprocess Engineering, School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Johor Bahru, 81310, Johor, Malaysia)
Zainul Akmar Zakaria (Department of Bioprocess Engineering, School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM Johor Bahru, 81310, Johor, Malaysia)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Apr 2021

Abstract

Dye pollution in water system is of concern due to its carcinogenicity and its effect on aesthetic feature. One pollutant of interest is methylene blue (MB), which is a cationic dye widely used in industries. In this study, pyrolysis process was used to convert pineapple waste biomass (PWB) into useful adsorbents such as biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) to remove MB in water. BC was produced from pyrolysis of PWB (340 °C, 3 hours) whereas AC was prepared from pyrolysis of PWB (500 °C, 1 hour) impregnated with zinc chloride (ZnCl2). Prior to use, AC-PWB and BC-PWB were characterized for surface area, functional groups and surface morphology. Removal of MB was investigated by varying different parameters i.e. initial MB concentration and contact time, adsorbent dosage and temperature. Results obtained showed that AC-PWB has higher adsorption capacity than BC-PWB. The adsorption capacity and adsorption rate increased with increasing initial concentration of MB, adsorbent dosage and temperature until reached equilibrium condition. As a conclusion, PWB can be used as a useful raw material to produce cheap and environmentally friendly adsorbent to remove dye from solution.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

etm

Publisher

Subject

Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology Chemical Engineering, Chemistry & Bioengineering Civil Engineering, Building, Construction & Architecture Environmental Science Public Health

Description

Environmental and Toxicology Management is a peer-reviewed journal for the publication of original articles, short communication, review articles, and case studies on the fundamentals, applications, and management of environmental and toxicology. Environmental and Toxicology Management is published ...