Application of sonication in improving the Cu(II) adsorptivity and recycling performanc of activated carbon fibers

Abstract

Abstract In order to enhance the adsorptivity of viscose-based activated carbon fibers (VACFs) for low-concentration Cu(II), sonication-assisted zinc chloride reactivation process and sonication-assisted-pickling regeneration process were studied in this research. This study aims to prepare a modified VACFs with high Cu(II) adsorptivity and recycling performance at the same time. As 10 wt% ZnCl2 used as activator, specific surface area, micropore volume and mesopore volume of VACFs increase by 59.33%, 37.35% and 813.87% respectively, besides, the Cu(II) adsorptivity was improved by 2.04 times through the reactivation process. Based on the sonication-assisted-pickling regeneration process, the regeneration rate was changed from 96.85% to 107.81% during 1–5 recycling times.