Preparation of Waste Fabric Based Activated Carbon and Determination of Adsorption Performance Using Methylene Blue

Abstract

The acceleration of industrialisation and population growth throughout the world have caused the rapid depletion of water resources in the last century. Industrial wastes are one of the major factors causing water pollution. One of the most effective and well-known methods to prevent water pollution is adsorption process. In this study, highly porous activated carbons were produced using waste fabric samples and their adsorption performances were determined in the presence an adsorbate to prevent water pollution. Methylene blue (MB) as the adsorbate was used for the adsorption tests. The waste fabric samples were carbonised at 400 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C to determine the effect of pre-carbonisation temperature on the adsorption performance. The activated carbon surface properties varied depending on the pre-carbonisation temperature. The surface areas of the samples were 1385 m2/g, 1583 m2/g and 1276 m2/g, and the total pore volumes were 0.7688 cm3/g, 0.9545 cm3/g and 0.7394 cm3/g, respectively. The results showed that the pre-carbonisation temperature affected the adsorption performance. The adsorption capacities of the activated carbons calculated according to the Langmuir adsorption model were 531.46 mg/g, 630.26 mg/g and 655.40 mg/g, respectively.