Magnetic activated carbon derived from pine fruit waste: efficient adsorbent for tetracycline (TC) and paracetamol (PC) removal from aqueous solution

Abstract

This work presents a significant highly porous activated magnetic carbon nanoparticles (MPFRC-A) derived from pine fruit residue through physical activation (carbonization temperature: 110–550◦C), chemical activation (H₂SO₄ (0.1 N, 96%)), and Co-precipitation processes and then using it for removing tetracycline (TC) and paracetamol (PC) from water and evaluating via the spectrophotometer (DR6000). Functionalization of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles on the surface of (PFR-AS) generated high saturation magnetization that causes to separate from aqueous solution by an external magnet. MPFR-AS adsorbent was evaluated by Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) analyzer, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy (RM). In the experimental sector, the effect of different items including, pH, contact time, initial concentrations, adsorbent dosage, and temperature on the adsorption processes were investigated and based on them the adsorption isotherm modules, and kinetics were studied and concluded. Results indicated that MPFR-A exhibited a large specific surface area (182.5 m2/g) and high total pore volume (0.33 cm3/g). The maximum adsorption capacity was obtained at pH = 4,5, adsorbent dose: 400 mg and initial concentration of 20 mg/L at 25°C. The study showed that experimental data were well-fitted by Langmuir isotherm model (R² > 0.98) and the maximum uptake capacities for TC was 43.75 mg/g and for PC was 41.7 mg/g.