Characterization and application of activated carbon from biomass and coal wastes for naphthalene removal

Activated carbons were prepared from different waste materials (coal tar pitch and apricot stones) by pyrolysis in the presence of water vapor. The adsorption of naphthalene from aqueous solution at 298 K on the obtained activated carbons was studied. It was established that the adsorption capacity of the activated carbons depends on thecu surface area and porosity. It was found that naphthalene adsorption follows Langmuir isotherms. The adsorption capacity of activated carbon obtained from coal tar pitch/furfural was 18.75 mg/g and for activated carbon from apricot stones - 29.95 mg/g.