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ARTICLE

Novel Magnetically Interconnected Micro/Macroporous Structure of Monolithic Porous Carbon Adsorbent Derived from Sodium Alginate and Wasted Black Liquor and Its Adsorption Performance**

by Parichart Onsri¹, Decha Dechtrirat^2,3,4, Patcharakamon Nooeaid⁵, Apiluck Eiad-ua⁶, Pongsaton Amornpitoksuk^1,7, Supanna Techasakul⁴, Ahmad Taufiq⁸, Laemthong Chuenchom^1,7,*

1 Division of Physical Science, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, 90112, Thailand
2 Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand
3 Specialized Center of Rubber and Polymer Materials for Agriculture and Industry (RPM), Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand
4 Laboratory of Organic Synthesis, Chulabhorn Research Institute, Bangkok, 10210, Thailand
5 Division of Polymer Materials, Faculty of Agricultural Product Innovation and Technology, Srinakharinwirot University, Nakhon Nayok, 26120, Thailand
6 College of Nanotechnology, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, 10520, Thailand
7 Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, 90112, Thailand
8 Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, 65145, Indonesia

* Corresponding Author: Laemthong Chuenchom. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Renewable materials for sustainable development)

Journal of Renewable Materials 2021, 9(6), 1059-1074. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2021.013362

Received 14 August 2020; Accepted 27 September 2020; Issue published 11 March 2021

Abstract

The novel and facile preparation of magnetically interconnected micro/ macroporous structure of monolithic porous carbon adsorbent (MPCA) were designed and presented herein. The synthesis was achieved via conventional freeze-drying and pyrolysis processes. In this study, sodium alginate and wasted black liquor were employed as starting precursors. Sodium alginate acts as a template of materials, whereas black liquor, the wasted product from the paper industry with plentiful of lignin content and alkaline solution, played an essential role in the reinforcement and activation of porosity for the resulting materials. Moreover, both the precursors were well dissolved in Fe³⁺ solution, providing a simple addition of a magnetic source in a one-pot synthesis. The interconnected micro/macroporous structures were generated through freeze-drying and, subsequently the pyrolysis process. The obtained cylindrical-shaped monolithic porous carbon adsorbent (MPCA-700) showed high mechanical stability, a high BET specific surface area (902 m² /g). Such aforementioned features were considered suitable to make the synthesized monolith as an adsorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions. The maximum adsorption capacity of MPCA-700 towards Pb²⁺ ions was 76.34 mg/g at pH 5. The adsorption studies illustrated that adsorption kinetics and isotherm perfectly fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetics model and Langmuir isotherm, respectively. This work presents a promising protocol to reduce the overall costs in the preparation of renewable adsorbents with good adsorption efficiency and regeneration.

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