Hydrothermal carbonization of vegetable-tanned leather shavings (HTC-VTS) for environmental remediation: optimization of process conditions

Baissassou Debina; Abdelaziz Baçaoui; Aymard Didier Tamafo Fouégué; Daouda Kouotou; Abdoul Ntieche Rahman; Abdelrani Yaacoubi; Loura Benguellah Benoît

doi:10.1098/rsos.230302

Hydrothermal carbonization of vegetable-tanned leather shavings (HTC-VTS) for environmental remediation: optimization of process conditions

R Soc Open Sci. 2023 Oct 18;10(10):230302. doi: 10.1098/rsos.230302. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Baissassou Debina¹, Abdelaziz Baçaoui², Aymard Didier Tamafo Fouégué³, Daouda Kouotou⁴, Abdoul Ntieche Rahman³, Abdelrani Yaacoubi², Loura Benguellah Benoît¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Maroua, PO Box 814, Maroua, Cameroon.
² Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science Semlalia, University of Cady Ayyad, Marrakech, Morocco.
³ Department of Chemistry, Higher Teacher Training College Bertoua, The University of Bertoua, PO Box 652, Bertoua, Cameroon.
⁴ Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Abstract

Herein, the response surface methodology (RSM) has been used to study simultaneously the effects of carbonization temperature, residence time and moisture content on the activated hydrochar preparation-based vegetable-tanned leather shavings (VTS) using hydrothermal carbonization method (HTC). Owing to the desirability chosen, three responses were analysed, namely: the hydrochar yield, iodine and methylene blue numbers. The analysis of experimental results revealed that the hydrochar yield was decreased with increase in carbonization temperature which led to micropores formation inside the hydrochar network. The optimal preparation conditions retained were: 83.10%, 390.44 mg g^-1 and 259.63 mg g^-1 for the hydrochar yield, iodine and methylene blue number respectively. The hydrochar micrograph showed the presence of external pores, whereas the FTIR analysis recorded the presence of acidic functional groups found on hydrochar surface. The findings revealed that the VTS is a good precursor for the hydrochar preparation useful in the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants in aqueous media.

Keywords: biomass; environmental remediation; hydrochar; hydrothermal carbonization; response surface methodology; vegetable-tanned leather shavings.

Associated data

Dryad/10.5061/dryad.sf7m0cgbc