Preparation of activated carbon from waste tires, and its use for dye removal

Abstract

In this study, activated carbon derivation from end-of-life tires (ELT), and color removal from waste-water with produced activated carbon were investigated. In activated carbon production stage, granulated waste tires were first washed in KOH solution at 1:1 (1-K) and 1:2 (2-K) impregnation ratios prior to thermal activation. Chemically activated waste tires were then subjected to pyrolysis. Following pyrolysis, solids (char) were used as adsorbent material. Surface area of 2-K adsorbent was measured to be 2.945 m(2)/g by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. In the second stage of the study, adsorptive removal of methylene blue dye from synthetically prepared wastewater was investigated using 1-K and 2-K activated carbons. Results have shown that activated carbon produced in the study was an appropriate adsorbent for removal of dye. The optimum conditions for 2-K adsorbent, which yielded 83% dye removal, were pH 6.5, 30 degrees C temperature, 7.5 g/L adsorbed dose, and 30 min contact time. Isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic studies were carried out in order to elucidate the adsorption mechanism. Since ELT derived activated carbon provided good efficiency in adsorption of dye, whole operation may be scaled-up considering the necessity of aligning rates of ELT production and its upcycling.