Performance evaluation of activated carbon produced from residual biomass.

• Grant number: 24/20246-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Edson Cocchieri Botelho
• Grantee: Isabella Carvalho de Oliveira
• Supervisor: Margarida Maria Joao de Quina
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEG). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Guaratinguetá. Guaratinguetá , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade de Coimbra (UC), Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/07031-3 - Production of activated carbon from olive pit for adsorption applications, BP.IC

Abstract

Society has been impacted by pollution and the depletion of non-renewable resources, harming public health and the environment, as well as destabilizing the economy. In light of this scenario, there is a growing interest in optimizing the use of available biomass. Biomass is a renewable resource that plays a role in capturing CO2 through photosynthesis during its growth, with olive pit being a notable example. The olive pit is an agricultural waste generated by the olive oil industry and is typically burned for energy generation. However, more valuable applications are being explored, such as the production of activated carbons, which can be used for both energy generation and pollutant adsorption. Activated carbons (ACs) are carbonaceous, porous, and non-graphitic materials used as adsorbents due to their extensive surface areas. Their physical and chemical characteristics depend on the activation method and the precursor source. There is a limitation on the use of AC due to its high production cost. Activated carbons are used for purification, filtration, and detoxification. Adsorption is a simple method for water treatment, used to remove toxic components such as dyes and heavy metals. Therefore, the objective of this proposal is to study the adsorption process in activated carbon obtained from olive pits in the presence of potassium hydroxide (KOH).Sulfamethoxazole will be the antibiotic used for the adsorption tests. Isotherms will be fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich models. The kinetic models of pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order will be tested to determine the most suitable model.