Novel carbon and polymer based adsorbents for water purification applications

P, Priya and Sharma, Chandra Shekhar (2018) Novel carbon and polymer based adsorbents for water purification applications. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.

Text
Thesis_Mtech_CH_4169.pdf - Submitted Version
Restricted to Repository staff only until August 2020.
Download (13MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The removal of carcinogenic aqueous pollutants by using adsorbents produced from cheap and renewable precursors such as agricultural wastes has received great attention because of its low cost and high performance. Methylene blue (MB), the most commonly used cationic dye for coloring, can cause adverse effects to many forms of life. In this study, Jamun seed, an inexpensive biomass, and lemon grass were used as precursors to prepare carbon based adsorbents for MB removal. Jamun seed was activated with KOH, followed by pyrolysis at 900 °C to obtain activated carbon with high surface area (747.5 m2 g-1). Lemon grass samples were pyrolysed at 900 oC to prepare carbon samples for adsorption studies. Batch adsorption studies were conducted under varying conditions of influential parameters and the maximum removal efficiency was found to be 97.77% at room temperature for jamun seed derived activated carbon. A maximum adsorption capacity of 182 mg g-1 was obtained for lemon grass derived carbon with maximum removal efficiency of 98% at room temperature. Experimental data were analyzed using various isotherm and kinetic models followed by the thermodynamic study in order to understand the adsorption mechanism in detail. PVAHAP hybrid nanofibers were also synthesized by electrospinning followed by chemical cross linking. The future work involves the application of these electro-spun nanofibers for dye effluent treatment.

[error in script]

IITH Creators: