Methylene Blue Adsorption on Activated Carbon Prepared from Camellia Oleifera Abel Shells

Activated carbon (AC) prepared from camellia oleifera abel shells (COAS) by phosphoric acid was used an adsorbent for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB), a cationic dye. The prepared COAS activated carbons (COASAC) were studied by the pore structural characteristics were determined. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to evaluate the potential of COASAC for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions under varying conditions of contact time, pH, adsorbent dosage, temperature and initial concentration. The results showed that the COASAC sample, a specific surface area of 1102m(2)/g and a total pore volume of about 0.66 cm(3)/g were achieved, while both microporosity and mesoporosity were obtained. The samples reached equilibrium in around 300 min, which follow the second order rate equation. The sorption capacity increased with increasing pH of the solution. Adsorption equilibrium studies showed that MB adsorption followed Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 384.6 mg/g and sorption capacity increased with increasing temperature. The results demonstrated that the COASAC can be used as a raw material for preparation of high quality activated carbon.