Green carbon composite-derived polymer resin and waste cotton fibers for the removal of alizarin red S dye

Abstract

Phenolic resin and waste cotton fiber were investigated as green precursors for the successful synthesis using a soft template approach of a composite carbon with carbon nanofibers embedded in a porous carbon network with ordered and periodically pore structure. The optimal composite carbon (PhR/NC-1), exhibited a specific surface area of 394 m2μg1 with the existence of both microporosity and mesoporosity. PhR/NC-1 carbon was evaluated as an adsorbent of Alizarin Red S (ARS) dye in batch solution. Various operating conditions were examined and the maximum adsorption capacity of 104 mgμg1 was achieved under the following conditions, i.e., T = 25 °C, pH = 3, contact time = 1440 min. The adsorption and desorption heat was assessed by flow micro-calorimetry (FMC), and the presence of both exothermic and endothermic peaks with different intensity was evidenced, meaning a partially reversible nature of ARS adsorption. A pseudo-second-order model proved to be the most suitable kinetic model to describe the ARS adsorption according to the linear regression factor. In addition, the best isotherm equilibrium has been achieved with a Freundlich model. The results show that the eco-friendly composite carbon derived from green phenolic resin mixed with waste cotton fibers improves the removal of ARS dye from textile effluents.