abstract
Industrial pre-treated cork - granules of expanded corkboard, prepared from renewable biomass - was used for the first time as precursor for the preparation of eco-friendly activated carbons by chemical (K2CO3 and KOH) and physical (steam) activation. Samples with different textural (microporosity/micro + mesoporosity) and surface chemistry (acidic/basic) were obtained. In the best compromise between porosity development/preparation yield, apparent surface areas >= 900 m(2) g(-1) were attained. Selected samples were assayed as adsorbents for the removal of pharmaceutical compounds (ibuprofen, paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid, clofibric acid, caffeine and iopamidol). Kinetic results show that the steam activated carbon removes all the pharmaceutical compounds under study with removal efficiencies between 40% and 90%. Ibuprofen equilibrium adsorption isotherms showed that sample chemically activated with KOH at 800 degrees C presents higher adsorption capacity (174.4 mg g(-1)) and affinity for this target molecule than the steam activated and commercial samples. The overall results reveal that the lab-made carbons have adequate properties for pharmaceutical compounds removal, the results comparing favourably to those obtained with samples commercialized for water treatment purposes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
keywords
CHEMICAL ACTIVATION; POWDER WASTE; ADSORPTION; IBUPROFEN; ACETAMINOPHEN; PARACETAMOL; COMPONENTS; RESIDUES; ISOTHERM; SORPTION
subject category
Engineering
authors
Mestre, AS; Pires, RA; Aroso, I; Fernandes, EM; Pinto, ML; Reis, RL; Andrade, MA; Pires, J; Silva, SP; Carvalho, AP
our authors
Moisés Luzia Pinto
Research AssistantGroups
acknowledgements
The authors thank the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, for financial support to CQB through the project PEst-OE/QUI/UI0100/2014. ASM thanks the financial support of COMPETE, AdI - QREN Project WaterCork (no 5523) and FCT for the Post-doc grant SFRH/BPD/86693/2012. MAA thanks FCT for the PhD grant, SFRH/BD/71673/2010. MLP thanks FEDER, QREN, COMPETE, and FCT for financial support to PEst-C/CTM/LA0011/2013 project and Investigador FCT contract (IF/00993/2012/CP0172/CT0013). The authors thank Quimitejo for providing carbons CP and VP, Salmon & Cia for the supply of carbons NS and N2, and Hovione for the supply of iopamidol.