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Iron-loaded coconut shell-activated carbons for orthophosphate adsorption

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Abstract

The presence of orthophosphate in streams stimulates eutrophication that brings negative implications to water quality and related economic sectors. This work was aimed at evaluating the removal of orthophosphate from water by iron-loaded adsorbents derived from coconut shells (CS). CS was carbonized and chemically activated with H3PO4 prior to ferric metals loading. The resultant adsorbents, CSA (coconut shell activated carbon), IC-CSA (ferric chloride-loaded), and IS-CSA (ferric sulfate-loaded) were characterized for physicochemical properties. Orthophosphate adsorption was studied under kinetic and equilibrium conditions considering the effects of concentration, solution pH, adsorbent dosage, and contact time. The modified adsorbents showed functional groups of –OH, C = C, and Fe–O, with IC-CSA exhibiting a greater specific surface of 722 m2/g. A maximum orthophosphate removal of 310 mg/g was recorded by IC-CSA in the pH range of 2–3. The Langmuir isotherm describes the equilibrium data well, while the adsorptive rate followed the pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters indicate that the adsorption is spontaneous and exothermic. Adsorption was pH-dependent, and desorption was successfully accomplished by alkaline leaching. Iron-loaded coconut shell activated carbon is a promising adsorbent to abate eutrophication due to orthophosphate in water.

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Acknowledgements

This work was part of S Lawal’s thesis for the award of PhD.

Funding

The project is funded in part by UTM-ICONIC Grant No. 09G54.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Lipids Engineering & Applied Research (CLEAR), Ibnu-Sina Institute for Scientific & Industrial Research (ISI-SIR), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Lawal Sirajo & Muhammad Abbas Ahmad Zaini

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical & Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Lawal Sirajo & Muhammad Abbas Ahmad Zaini

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Kaduna Polytechnics, PMB 2021, Kaduna, Nigeria

    Lawal Sirajo

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  1. Lawal Sirajo
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  2. Muhammad Abbas Ahmad Zaini
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Contributions

S Lawal (PhD Candidate): Conceptualization, methodology, experimental work, analysis, first draft.

MAA Zaini (Associate Professor): Grant recipient, supervision, conceptualization, review, validation.

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Correspondence to Muhammad Abbas Ahmad Zaini.

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Highlights

• Iron-loaded carbons were prepared from coconut shell for orthophosphate removal.

• Ferric chloride loading enhanced the specific surface from 178 to 722 m2/g.

• A maximum orthophosphate capacity of 310 mg/g was recorded.

• Regeneration by alkaline solution showed 89% removal after three cycles.

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Sirajo, L., Zaini, M.A.A. Iron-loaded coconut shell-activated carbons for orthophosphate adsorption. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04284-9

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