Investigation of the potential of activated and magnetic activated carbon produced from Turkish lignite as gold adsorbents

Abstract

Activated carbon was prepared from Tuncbilek-Kutahya (Turkey) lignite (LAC) which was chosen as a precursor due to its availability and low-cost. The precursor was impregnated with distilled water and KOH and was selected in 1:4 ratios. A Magnetic Activated Carbon (MAC) was prepared by 0.5 g of the modified LAC in 20 mL aqueous solution containing 4 g Fe(N03),.9H20. The ability of the activated carbons to adsorb gold ions from aqueous solution by adsorption was investigated. The BET surface area values of the activated carbons ranged from 667-928 m2 g-1. The effect of particle size on the activated carbon had very small effect on the specific surface area because of internal pore structure development. The effects of various experimental parameters such as initial gold concentration, pH and adsorbent dosage were investigated in a batch adsorption technique. The percentage of gold adsorption onto Commercial Activated Carbon (CAC), LAC and MAC showed the same trend, they adsorbed more than 80% of gold in the first 15 min and nearly 100% in next 45 min. On the other hand, the coarser carbon, CAC-1, adsorbed nearly 30% of gold in first 15 min and 65% in next 45 min due to the particle size effect. © 2014 Knowledpa Review, Malaysia.