Jian-Feng Gao

Effective adsorption of phenols using nitrogen-containing porous activated carbon prepared from sunflower plates

Nitrogen-containing porous carbons, the 800SP-NH3, were synthesized using sunflower plates as the major carbon source carbonized at 800°C and activated with concentrated aqueous ammonia at the same temperature. The porous carbons were characterized by nitrogen physical adsorption-desorption, surface area analyzer, FT-IR, and SEM. The adsorption properties of the porous carbons towards phenols were also investigated by batch methods. The test results show that the average pore diameter of porous carbon is smaller than 2 nm, and nitrogen-containing chemical groups are formed on its surface. The adsorption capacity for phenol, 4-chlorophenol, and p-nitrophenol is 316.5mg/g, 330.24mg/g and 387.62mg/g due to its developed pore structure and nitrogen-containing chemical groups. The adsorption isotherm data greatly obey the Langmuir model.

Removal of Fe(II) from Ce(III) and Pr(III) rare earth solution using surface imprinted polymer

Abstract Rare earth solution is a very important strategic resource. But, impurities, such as Fe2+, have great influence on the optical properties of rare earth material. In this study, a novel Fe2+-ionic imprinted polyamine functionalized silica gel adsorbent was prepared by a surface imprinting technique for selective adsorption of Fe2+ from rare earth solution. The adsorption and recognition properties of IIP-PEI/SiO2 for Fe2+ were studied in detail. The experimental results showed that the IIP-PEI/SiO2 possessed strong adsorption affinity, specific recognition ability and excellent selectivity for Fe2+. The adsorption isotherm data greatly obey the Langmuir model, and the adsorption was typical monolayer. The adsorption capacity could reach up to 0.334 mmol g−1, and relative selectivity coefficients relative to Pr3+ and Ce3+ are 23.25 and 18.42, respectively. Besides, the IIP-PEI/SiO2 was regenerated easily using diluted hydrochloric acid solution, as eluent and IIP-PEI/SiO2 possess better reusability.

Effective removal of anilines using porous activated carbon based on ureaformaldehyde resin

The effective removal of aniline and its derivatives from wastewater is very important due to the high toxicity. Adsorption with a high-performance adsorbent is an efficient pathway. A novel activated carbon, ACUF-700, was synthesized using homemade ureaformaldehyde resin as the major carbon source carbonized at 700 °C. ACUF-700 is characterized by surface area analyzer, FTIR, elemental analyzer, and SEM. The adsorption properties of ACUF-700 towards anilines are also investigated by using batch methods. The test results showed that the ACUF-700 possesses higher specific surface area and narrower pore size distribution. In virtue of its developed pore structure and nitrogencontaining chemical groups, the adsorption capacities towards aniline, p-toluidine and p-chloroaniline could reach 95.6, 108.1 and 128.9mg/g, respectively. The adsorption process could be well described by the intra-particle mass transfer diffusion model and Sips model. Besides, ACUF700 was regenerated easily using diluted hydrochloric acid solution as eluent and ACUF700 possesses better reusability.

High selectivity and removal efficiency of lotus root-based activated carbon towards Fe(III) in La(III) solution

Rare earth elements are an important strategic resource. However, a trace of Fe(III) impurity has serious adverse impact on the performance of rare earth materials. We synthesized a novel nitrogen-containing carbon material, ACLR-400, using lotus root as raw materials. The ACLR-400 was characterized by surface area analyzer, elemental analysis and FT-IR. The selectivity and removal efficiency of ACLR-400 towards Fe(III) were also investigated. The BET specific surface area of ACLR-400 was 68.44 m2·g−1, and the average pore diameter was 12.54 nm. With abundant nitrogen- containing functional groups and well-developed internal pore structure, ACLR-400 possesses strong adsorption affinity, excellent selectivity and removal efficiency for Fe(III). The adsorption capacity of ACLR-400 towards Fe(III) could reach to 0.46 mmol·g−1, selectivity coefficient with respect to La(III) was 8.9, and removal efficiency was 99.61%. The adsorption isotherm data greatly obey the Freundlich isotherm. In addition, ACLR-400 can be regenerated easily and possesses better regeneration ability and reusability.