Green approach to production of porous char adsorbents via oxidative carbonization in fluidized catalyst bed

A green and energy-efficient technique for production of porous carbon-mineral chars from agricultural wastes (rice husk, wheat bran) and sedimentary carbonaceous feedstocks (high-ash peat, coal) was developed. It is based on partial combustion in fluidized bed of a deep oxidation catalyst at low temperatures (465 – 600 ◦C). This technique yields porous chars with an elevated mineral content that depends on a feed-stock used, and gaseous products of complete oxidation. It was found that the obtained chars have developed porosity with BET specific surface area of ca. 50 – 170 m²g⁻¹, pore volume of 0.05 – 0.17 ml·g⁻¹, and ash content of 16 – 79 wt. %. They were additionally characterized by TGA and FTIR. Their testing as adsorbents for heavy metal ions (by the example of Cu²⁺) and organic dyes (by the example of methyl green) revealed that their adsorption capacities are comparable to those of chars produced by the conventional pyrolytic approaches.

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