Exploring synergistic effects in physical-chemical activation of Acorus calamus for water treatment solutions

Abstract

The research proposed a novel method of obtaining sorption material from readily available Acorus calamus biomass through a combination of physical and chemical activation processes. The material with the highest specific surface area (1652 m² g^-1) was obtained by physical activation with CO₂, followed by chemical activation with KOH. Reversing the order of activation methods resulted in a lower specific surface area (1014 m² g^-1) of the carbon sample. Chemical activation produced activated carbon with a surface area of 1066 m² g^-1-, while physical activation produced 390 m² g^-1. This confirms the synergistic effect of combining the two activation methods for biocarbon. It was observed that physical activation with CO₂ generates a diverse range of pores, including meso- and macropores, while chemical activation induces the formation of micropores. In contrast, reversing the order of these processes leads to the degradation of the porous structure. The application of physical-chemical activation with synergistic effects represents a significant advancement in producing high-quality activated biocarbon for various applications, such as wastewater treatment and energy storage. The combination of the two activation methods resulted in a synergistic effect, leading to the production of carbon material of higher quality. Additionally, the diversified pore sizes will enable the sorption of various pollutants in the aquatic environment and air pollutants, where gas particles are much smaller.

Keywords: Activated carbon; Physical-chemical activation; Pyrolysis; Synergy effect; Wastewater treatment.