Preparation of activated carbon based on synthetic and agricultural wastes: application to the adsorption of methyl orange

This study focus on the optimization of operating conditions for activated carbons preparation starting from synthetic waste (tires) and agricultural waste (date pits) by chemical activation. The experimental design was used in order to determinate the optimal conditions for the preparation of a precursor with high properties. The results show that a temperature of 550°C and particle diameter of 800 μm are interesting. The specific surface area reached 770 and 1030m2/g respectively for the active carbons obtained from tires and date pits. In order to evaluate the efficiency of these adsorbents, we selected an anionic dye (orange methyl) as a pollutant. Kinetic results show that the adsorption equilibrium is reached at around 60 min with an adsorbed amount of 21.42 mg/ g and 38.83 mg/g for the TAC (Tire Activated Carbon) and the DPAC (Date Pits Activated Carbon) respectively. The different isotherms were well fitting by Freundlich model.