Development of Resin Based Spherical Activated Carbon with High Performance Derived from Waste Ion-Exchange Resin and Its High Effective Removal of Tetracycline

Industrial production brings billions of tons of solid waste every year, which not only leads to resource waste, but also causes threat to the environment. Improving solid waste resource utilization can better meet the needs of environmental protection and sustainable development. Herein, steam activation method were used to transform the waste ion-exchange resin (IER) into resin based spherical activated carbons (RSACs) with high adsorption properties and mechanical strength to realize the efficient use of waste resources. The porous structures and mechanical strength of RSACs can be adjusted by changing the reaction conditions including activation temperature, activation time and steam input. The largest specific surface area is up to 2047 m2/g with the pore volume of 1.56 cm3/g. The feasibility of utilizing RSACs to remove tetracycline (TC) from aqueous solution was evaluated, and the highest adsorption capacity is 701 mg/g. The pH variation shows some extent effect on the adsorption. The coexisting ions with higher valence state and concentration result in the decrease of the adsorption capacity to some extent. Additionally, the kinetics experimental data fit the pseudo-second-order model well, and the equilibrium data are more consistent with the Freundlich model. The adsorbent is promising in wastewater treatment. Resin based spherical activated carbons (RSACs) were developed from waste ion-exchange resin through steam activation. The internal porous structures and mechanical strength of as-prepared RSACs can be adjusted by changing reaction conditions. RSACs exhibit a high efficiency removal of tetracycline, and the adsorption capacity is 701 mg/g.image