Synthesis of graphene-like material derived from biomass from agricultural waste and its application in Cu (II) removal

Abstract

The conversion of biomass from agricultural waste into valuable chemicals and materials is in the need, considering the growing demand for chemicals and materials originating from renewable resources. In this paper the feasibility of graphene-like materials preparation from biomass namely sugarcane bagasse, rice husk, coconut shell, and sawdust using modified Hummers methods was investigated. The application of the graphene-like materials resulting from the process in the Cu (II) removal via adsorption route was also studied. The characterization of samples shows the materials produced from sugarcane bagasse and coconut shells depict the pattern of reduced graphene oxide (rGO), while the materials derived from rise husk and sawdust follow the pattern of graphene. The synthesized graphene-like materials later were used as an adsorbent for Cu (II) removal. The results shows that graphene-like materials from sugarcane bagasse and coconut shells give the highest adsorption reaction kinetics with 19.76 and 19.34 mg/g, respectively, by following the second-order-pseudo model and the adsorption isotherm fitted the Langmuir model.