Title: Adsorption of cobalt (III) by HCl and H₂O₂ modified activated carbon

Authors: Zhen Liu; Yan-Guo Zhang; Bing Han; Zhong-Chao Tan; Qing-Hai Li

Addresses: Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Tsinghua University-University of Waterloo Joint Research Center for Micro/Nano Energy and Environment Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ' Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Tsinghua University-University of Waterloo Joint Research Center for Micro/Nano Energy and Environment Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ' Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Tsinghua University-University of Waterloo Joint Research Center for Micro/Nano Energy and Environment Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ' Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada; Tsinghua University-University of Waterloo Joint Research Center for Micro/Nano Energy and Environment Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China ' Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China; Tsinghua University-University of Waterloo Joint Research Center for Micro/Nano Energy and Environment Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

Abstract: Activated carbon prepared from coconut husk was modified with HCl and H₂O₂ and tested for the removal of cobalt (III) in aqueous solutions. The modification altered the activated carbon pore structures and quantities of the functional group. Batch-mode adsorption experiments were carried out for activated carbons modified at different temperatures (25-75°C), reagent concentrations (0.01-0.04 mol· L⁻¹), and times (1-8 h). Results show that, under optimum experimental conditions, H₂O₂ modified activated carbon performs better in terms of adsorption efficiency. Cobalt (III) adsorption efficiency is approximately 86%, and HCl modified activated carbon is around 79%.

Keywords: activated carbon; adsorption; modified activated carbon; cobalt (III); environmental pollution.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2018.097314

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2018 Vol.63 No.3, pp.192 - 205

Received: 14 Sep 2017
Accepted: 29 Jun 2018
Published online: 14 Jan 2019 *

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