Synthesis of Activated Carbon from Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Plastic Waste and Its Application for Removal of Organic Dyes from Water

Abstract

Synthetic plastics are often considered to be materials that cannot be broken down by natural processes. One such plastic, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), is commonly used in everyday items but when these products are discarded, they can cause serious harm to the environment and human health. In this study, PET plastic waste was used to create activated carbon using a physical activation process that involved using CO2 gas. The researchers investigated the effects of different temperatures, carbonization, and activation times on the resulting activated carbon’s surface area. The activated carbon was then analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR, and BET. The activated carbon created from PET plastic waste showed excellent absorption properties for methylene blue in aqueous solutions across a wide range of pH levels. By creating activated carbon from plastic waste, not only are environmental issues addressed, but high-value activated carbon is produced for environmental remediation purposes.