Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution using Porous Biochar Obtained by KOH Activation of Peanut Shell Biochar

Biochar from peanut shell was used as the precursor for the preparation of porous biochar by KOH activation. The pore structures of porous biochar also were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N2 adsorption/desorption. The adsorption performance for the removal of methylene blue (MB) was deeply investigated. The effects of impregnation ratio (KOH/biochar: w/w), activation temperature, and activation time on the removal of methylene blue by porous biochar were evaluated. In addition, the effects of initial MB concentration and pH value on the adsorption process were also studied. The optimum conditions for preparing porous biochar were obtained with 1.5:1 of impregnation ratio, 800 °C of activation temperature, and 90 min of the holding time in activation. Results indicated that the adsorption capacity was high even at higher initial MB concentrations. The adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The experimental adsorption isotherm was found to be best fitted with the Langmuir model, which implying that the adsorption of MB by porous biochar proceeded as a monolayer adsorption, and the maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of MB was 208 mg∙g-1.