Adsorption Studies on the Removal of an Herbicide (Atrazine) Using Activated Carbons Prepared from Agricultural Waste Sugarcane Bagasse
A potassium hydroxide activation method is used to derive activated carbon (AC), which has high surface area of 1,324.62 m2/g, from agricultural waste, i.e. sugarcane bagasse. The adsorption capacity of AC for Atrazine, a widely used herbicide, in aqueous solution is evaluated at different initial Atrazine concentration, temperature, and pH. The results show the maximum adsorption capacity of Atrazine is proportional to the initial concentration of Atrazine. The amount of adsorption is inversely proportional to the temperature, although there is not significant decrease of adsorption capacity when temperature rises. Furthermore, the pH value has no influence on the adsorption of Atrazine, which shows the AC made of sugarcane bagasse has great performance in adsorption over a wide range of pH values.
