Production of nanostructured crystalline composite using residual ashes from flocculated sludge burning process in a poultry slaughterhouse wastewater treatment system

Abstract

Nanostructured crystalline composite (activated carbon) was synthesized from residual ashes of the burning process of the sludge generated in the flotation step of a poultry slaughterhouse and was used for Allura red dye adsorption. The ashes were chemically activated using two types of reagents, H2O2 and H3PO4, and the structure, morphology, and surface of the adsorbents were characterized by different techniques such as scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method and Barret-Joyner-Hallenda (BJH) method, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (MID/FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the point of zero charge (PZC). The adsorbent synthesized with H3PO4 at 400 ºC displayed the best performance in removing dye molecules in 10 mg.L-1 solution, with a removal rate of approximately 100% when using a concentration of 2 g.L-1 in particle size of 0.42 mm. Besides that, the adsorbent synthesized with H3PO4 had a particle diameter of approximately 15 Å, a size corresponding to the nanometer range, presented a crystallinity structure with well-defined phases such as quartz and the major elements in the composition were carbon and silicon. The surface area of the ashes enlarged from 14.71 to 448.1 m2.g-1 when H3PO4 was used as an activator, producing a high-quality adsorbent, with an excellent cost-benefit, being it possible to be produced for a price of 9.35 USD.kg-1, a price lower than the commercial activated carbon, making it a promising candidate for application in an industrial environment.