TITLE:
Preparation and Characterisation of Corncob-Based Biosorbents in Côte d’Ivoire
AUTHORS:
Miezan Gnoan Ghislaine De Bouanzi, Patrick Grah Atheba, Serge Kouassi Gbamélé, Martin Alla Aka, Albert Trokourey
KEYWORDS:
Biosorbent, Corncobs, Chemical Activation, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Materials Physics and Chemistry,
Vol.14 No.8,
August
30,
2024
ABSTRACT: This study focuses on the preparation of corncob-based biosorbents. The chemical impregnation method was used to vary the chemical agent namely phosphoric acid H3PO4 (BA) and sodium hydroxide NaOH (BB). The physicochemical analysis of the two biosorbents indicated that under the same preparation conditions, the bio-sorbents have after activation yields lower than 50% (24.37% for BB and 49.09% for BA). In addition, the biosorbents have iodine index values between 444.17 mg/g and 418.79 mg/g and specific surfaces related to the adsorption of methylene blue ranging from 18.54 m2/g to 19.70 m2/g. The study of surface functional groups by using the Boehm test and pH zero point charge (pHPZC) confirmed the acidic nature of BA and BB biosorbents with respective values pHPZC = 4.01 and pHPZC = 4.90. The Langmuir method and BET analysis determined the specific surface areas by liquid phase adsorption of methylene blue as well as the porosity. The BET surface areas of BA and BB obtained are 72.01 m2/g and 63.10 m2/g respectively. The influence of the chemical activating agent on the formation of pores was confirmed by electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. From this study, it is found that the best activating agent for corn cobs was found to be phosphoric acid because the BA biosorbent was revealed to be the most favourable due to its surface area and good pore volume which are high compared to sodium hydroxide NaOH. Moreover, their application as adsorbent for effluent treatment could be explored.