Influence of the surface modification of granular-activated carbon synthesized from macauba on heavy metal sorption

Adsorption on activated carbon is a promising technique for the treatment of low-concentration heavy metal pollutants in water with high efficiency and simple operation. However, commercial-activated carbon is often associated with high costs. Therefore, much attention has been given to activated carbon derived from low-cost agricultural and residual biomass. In this work, adsorption of Zn, Cd, and Pb ions in aqueous solutions was conducted using granular-activated carbon obtained from macauba palm, biomass waste of biofuel production, after surface modification using different methods. The adsorbents were obtained in granular form which facilitates all steps of the use, recovery, and reuse of the material, differently from the powdered-activated carbon normally used. The materials were characterized by using XPS, elemental analysis, N2 sorption (BET method), and zeta potential measurements. Such techniques allowed observation of the functionalization of the carbon surface. The materials presented high adsorption capacities when compared to other works in the literature, with a capacity of approximately 7.69, 8.42, and 1.63 mmol g−1 for Zn2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+, respectively. In addition, the materials showed a high capacity to be reused, removing 75% of Pb and 99% of both Cd and Zn after 4 cycles.