Adsorption kinetics of an activated carbon glass composite prepared using acrylic waste through laser treatment

Abstract

This work explains a novel method of producing activated carbon using laser treatment. Acrylic coated glass samples were developed by padding a glass non-woven sheet in 30% acrylic fibre solution (PAN solution) from waste acrylic bathmats. Samples were then dried and cured at different temperatures. After curing, stabilisation was performed at 230 °C with a heating rate of 50 °C hr-1. Infrared laser irradiation was performed on the stabilised web using a commercial pulsed infrared laser for carbonisation. The resultant acrylic glass carbon composite (AGCC) was characterised with the help of x-ray diffraction analysis, energy dispersive w-ray, and a scanning electron microscope to determine the increase in crystallinity as well as the percentage of carbon and surface roughness of the carbon glass composites. The adsorption capacity of the activated carbon (AC) glass composite prepared was determined by changing process inputs like the concentration of dye, the amount of AC glass composite, the agitation speed and pH. The results were analysed through different adsorption isotherms. It was established that the Freundlich model can more effectively de-scribe results due to the development of heterogeneous surface characteristics. The kinetics of adsorption were studied using first order and second order models.