IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v27y2025i3d10.1007_s10668-023-04168-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Removal of organic compounds in wastewater using cocoa shell‑based activated carbon–SiO2 nanoparticles

Author

Listed:
  • Adan Y. León

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS
    Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS)

  • José D. Contreras-Arenas

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS)

  • Cristian F. Garnica-Fuentes

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS)

  • Michell A. Jiménez-Caballero

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS
    Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS)

  • Diego F. Pinto-Hernández

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS)

  • Emiliano Ariza-León

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander- UIS)

  • Darío Y. Peña-Ballesteros

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander - UIS)

  • Daniel R. Molina-Velasco

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander- UIS)

Abstract

This work aimed to use low-cost residual cocoa shell biomass for the preparation of activated carbon with different amounts of SiO2 nanoparticles using the coprecipitation method. The use of residual plant biomass seeks to strengthen the challenges of the bioeconomy in the generation of value-added products for the agro-industry. Subsequently, the adsorption capacity of phenol and 3,4-dimethoxybenzyl alcohol as representative species of persistent organic pollutants was quantified. The chemical activation of the carbon was carried out at 480 °C during 30 min with a 1.5 phosphoric acid (H3PO4) impregnation ratio. The activated carbons were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), showing the presence of functional groups associated with substances such as phenols, carboxylic acids, aromatic rings, and SiO2. Also, activated carbons were structurally characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), finding that the granules had structured surfaces but with irregular size and disordered channels, which facilitates the impregnation of SiO2 nanoparticles onto the activated carbon surface. The adsorption study of the organic compounds was carried out using UV–Vis spectroscopy. The adsorption isotherms, which were adjusted to the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models, were determined with correlation coefficients of 0.9835, 0.9885 and 0.987. On the other hand, the adsorbent materials achieved removal percentages around 97.9% and 97.8% for phenol and 3,4-dimethoxybenzyl alcohol, respectively. The results showed that activated carbons with SiO2 nanoparticles increased the specific surface area by up to 20%. Therefore, this property allows a greater interaction of contaminants at the time of adsorption. Graphical abstract

Suggested Citation

  • Adan Y. León & José D. Contreras-Arenas & Cristian F. Garnica-Fuentes & Michell A. Jiménez-Caballero & Diego F. Pinto-Hernández & Emiliano Ariza-León & Darío Y. Peña-Ballesteros & Daniel R. Molina-Vel, 2025. "Removal of organic compounds in wastewater using cocoa shell‑based activated carbon–SiO2 nanoparticles," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 6811-6830, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:27:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10668-023-04168-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-04168-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-023-04168-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-023-04168-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kamel K. Al-Zboon, 2018. "Phosphate removal by activated carbon–silica nanoparticles composite, kaolin, and olive cake," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(6), pages 2707-2724, December.
    2. Suneeta Kumari & Sri Hari Kumar Annamareddy, 2020. "Treatment of garage wastewater using activated carbon made from khat (Catha edulis) and neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 2967-2978, April.
    3. Alicja Puszkarewicz & Jadwiga Kaleta, 2020. "The Efficiency of the Removal of Naphthalene from Aqueous Solutions by Different Adsorbents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-16, August.
    4. Rimene Dhahri & Murat Yılmaz & Lassaad Mechi & Abdulmohsen Khalaf Dhahi Alsukaibi & Fathi Alimi & Ridha ben Salem & Younes Moussaoui, 2022. "Optimization of the Preparation of Activated Carbon from Prickly Pear Seed Cake for the Removal of Lead and Cadmium Ions from Aqueous Solution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Poonam & Narendra Kumar, 2020. "Experimental and kinetic study of removal of lead (Pb+2) from battery effluent using sweet lemon (Citrus limetta) peel biochar adsorbent," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 4379-4406, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Celia Sabando-Fraile & Marina Corral-Bobadilla & Rubén Lostado-Lorza & Fátima Somovilla-Gomez, 2023. "Multiresponse Performance Evaluation and Life Cycle Assessment for the Optimal Elimination of Pb (II) from Industrial Wastewater by Adsorption Using Vine Shoot Activated Carbon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Rafael Piñeiro & Eva Jimenez-Relinque & Roman Nevshupa & Marta Castellote, 2021. "Primary and Secondary Emissions of VOCs and PAHs in Indoor Air from a Waterproof Coal-Tar Membrane: Diagnosis and Remediation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-15, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:27:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10668-023-04168-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.