Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Activated carbon from tea residue as efficient absorbents for environmental pollutant removal from wastewater

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Water pollution has become a major environmental concern for mankind. Although tea residue is usually discarded as waste, it can be used as a biological resource for the preparation of porous carbon for wastewater treatment. In this study, activated carbon (AC) was prepared from tea residue using ZnCl2, H3PO4, H2SO4, NaOH, and KOH. The effects of the preparation conditions were investigated, and the optimal conditions were determined by the iodine number of the ACs. ZnCl2-derived AC has the highest iodine number of 1519.0 mg/g compared with other activator-derived ACs. The results of an orthogonal test confirmed that the concentration of ZnCl2 is the most important factor for the preparation of ACs. The optimized AC possesses a well-developed microporous structure with a high specific surface area of 1029 m2·g−1 and a small pore size of 0.6589 nm. The AC exhibited a high adsorption capacity for heavy metals (removal efficiency of 99.9% for Hg and 74.7% for Cu), pigments, and pesticide residues (removal efficiency of 100.0% for 16 types of organic phosphorus pesticides). The adsorption mechanism was analysed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The AC with excellent adsorption performance provides promising potential for application in wastewater treatment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Li L, Li W, Ge J, Wu YJ, Jiang SR, Liu FM (2008) Use of graphitic carbon black and primary secondary amine for determination of 17 organophosphorus pesticide residues in spinach. J Sep Sci 31:3588–3594. https://doi.org/10.1002/jssc.200800384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Idzelis RL, Greičiūte K, Paliulis D (2006) Investigation and evaluation of surface water pollution with heavy metals and oil products in kairiai military ground territory. J Environ Eng Landscape Manage. 14:183–190. https://doi.org/10.3846/16486897.2006.9636896

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lacina O, Zachariasova M, Urbanova J, Vaclavikova M, Cajka T, Hajslova J (2012) Critical assessment of extraction methods for the simultaneous determination of pesticide residues and mycotoxins in fruits, cereals, spices and oil seeds employing ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 1262:8–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2012.08.097

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Robinson T, McMullan G, Marchant R, Nigam P (2001) Remediation of dyes in textile effluent: a critical review on current treatment technologies with a proposed alternative. Bioresour Technol 77:247–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-8524(00)00080-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Nss A, Kaa B (2016) Impact of toxic heavy metals and pesticide residues in herbal products. Beni Suef Univ. J Basic Appl Sci 5:102–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjbas.2015.10.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Abollino O, Aceto M, Malandrino M, Sarzanini C, Mentasti E (2003) Adsorption of heavy metals on Na-montmorillonite. Effect of pH and organic substances. Water Res 37:1619–1627. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0043-1354(02)00524-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Annadurai G, Juang RS, Lee DJ (2003) Adsorption of heavy metals from water using banana and orange peels. Water Sci Technol 47:185–190. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2003.0049

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kleineidam S, Schuth C, Grathwohl P (2002) Solubility-normalized combined adsorption-partitioning sorption isotherms for organic pollutants. Environ Sci Technol 36:4689–4697. https://doi.org/10.1021/es010293b

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Zietzschmann F, Worch E, Altmann J, Ruhl AS, Sperlich A, Meinel F, Jekel M (2014) Impact of EfOM size on competition in activated carbon adsorption of organic micro-pollutants from treated wastewater. Water Res 65:297–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.07.043

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Lee KJ, Miyawaki J, Shiratori N, Yoon S-H, Jang J (2013) Toward an effective adsorbent for polar pollutants: Formaldehyde adsorption by activated carbon. J Hazard Mater 260:82–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.04.049

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Jawad AH, Ismail K, Ishak MAM, Wilson LD (2019) Conversion of Malaysian low-rank coal to mesoporous activated carbon: structure characterization and adsorption properties. Chin J Chem Eng 27:1716–1727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjche.2018.12.006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Peng C, Yan X-b, Wang R-t, Lang J-w, Ou Y-j, Xue Q-j (2013) Promising activated carbons derived from waste tea-leaves and their application in high performance supercapacitors electrodes. Electrochim Acta 87:401–408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2012.09.082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Auta M, Hameed BH (2011) Optimized waste tea activated carbon for adsorption of Methylene Blue and Acid Blue 29 dyes using response surface methodology. Chem Eng J 175:233–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2011.09.100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Jawad AH, Rashid RA, Ismail K, Sabar S (2017) High surface area mesoporous activated carbon developed from coconut leaf by chemical activation with H3PO4 for adsorption of methylene blue. Desalin Water Treat 74:326–335. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2017.20571

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Jawad AH, Sauodi MH, Mastuli MS, Aouda MA, Radzun KA (2018) Pomegranate peels collected from fresh juice shop as a renewable precursor for high surface area activated carbon with potential application for methylene blue adsorption. Desalin Water Treat 124:287–296. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2018.22725

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Jawad AH, Bardhan M, Islam MA, Islam MA, Syed-Hassan SSA, Surip SN, Alothman ZA, Khan MR (2020) Insights into the modeling, characterization and adsorption performance of mesoporous activated carbon from corn cob residue via microwave-assisted H3PO4 activation. Surf Interfaces 21:11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2020.100688

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Jawad AH, Abdulhameed AS, Wilson LD, Syed-Hassan SSA, Alothman ZA, Khan MR (2021) High surface area and mesoporous activated carbon from KOH-activated dragon fruit peels for methylene blue dye adsorption: Optimization and mechanism study. Chin J Chem Eng 32:281–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjche.2020.09.070

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Astuti W, Sulistyaningsih T, Kusumastuti E, Thomas GYRS, Kusnadi RY (2019) Thermal conversion of pineapple crown leaf waste to magnetized activated carbon for dye removal. Bioresour Technol 287:121426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Shoaib AGM, El-Sikaily A, El Nemr A, Mohamed AEA, Hassan AA (2020) Testing the carbonization condition for high surface area preparation of activated carbon following type IV green algaUlva lactuca. Biomass Convers Biorefinery 1:16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-020-00823-w

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Nemr AE, Shoaib A, Sikaily AE, Mohamed E, Hassan AF (2021) Evaluation of cationic Methylene Blue dye removal by high surface area mesoporous activated carbon derived from Ulva lactuca. J Environmental Processes 8:311–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Hayat K, Iqbal H, Malik U, Bilal U, Mushtaq S (2015) Tea and its consumption: benefits and risks. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 55:939–954. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2012.678949

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Katha PS, Ahmed Z, Alam R, Saha B, Rahman MS (2021) Efficiency analysis of eggshell and tea waste as Low cost adsorbents for Cr removal from wastewater sample. J Chem Eng. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajce.2021.06.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Kabir MM, Mouna SSP, Akter S, Khandaker S, Didar-ul-Alam M, Bahadur NM, Mohinuzzaman M, Islam A, Shenashen MA (2021) Tea waste based natural adsorbent for toxic pollutant removal from waste samples. J Mol Liq 322:16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2020.115012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Ahsan MA, Islam MT, Hernandez C, Kim H, Lin YR, Curry ML, Gardea-Torresdey J, Noveron JC (2018) Adsorptive removal of sulfamethoxazole and bisphenol A from contaminated water using functionalized carbonaceous material derived from tea leaves. J Environ Chem Eng 6:4215–4225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2018.06.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhou JZ, Luo AR, Zhao YC (2018) Preparation and characterisation of activated carbon from waste tea by physical activation using steam. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 68:1269–1277. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2018.1460282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Liang QL, Liu YC, Chen MY, Ma LL, Yang B, Li LL, Liu Q (2020) Optimized preparation of activated carbon from coconut shell and civil for municipal sludge. Mater Chem Phys 241:10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2019.122327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Asadi-Sangachini Z, Galangash MM, Younesi H, Nowrouzi M (2019) The feasibility of cost-effective manufacturing activated carbon derived from walnut shells for large-scale CO2 capture. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:26542–26552. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05842-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Rodríguez-Reinoso F, Molina-Sabio MJC (1992) Activated carbons from lignocellulosic materials by chemical and/or physical activation : an overview. Carbon 30:1111–1118. https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-6223(92)90143-k

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Liu Z, Sun Y, Xu X, Meng X, Qu J, Wang Z, Liu C, Qu B (2020) Preparation, characterization and application of activated carbon from corn cob by KOH activation for removal of Hg(II) from aqueous solution. Bioresour Technol 306:123154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Liew RK, Azwar E, Yek PNY, Lim XY, Cheng CK, Ng J-H, Jusoh A, Lam WH, Ibrahim MD, Ma NL et al (2018) Microwave pyrolysis with KOH/NaOH mixture activation: a new approach to produce micro-mesoporous activated carbon for textile dye adsorption. Bioresour Technol 266:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2018.06.051

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. You Y, Zhang X, Li P, Lei F, Jiang J (2020) Co-production of xylooligosaccharides and activated carbons from Camellia oleifera shell treated by the catalysis and activation of zinc chloride. Bioresour Technol 306:123131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Lee JW, Choi SP, Thiruvenkatachari R, Shim WG, Moon H (2006) Evaluation of the performance of adsorption and coagulation processes for the maximum removal of reactive dyes. Dyes Pigm 69:196–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dyepig.2005.03.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Zhu M-Q, Wang Z-W, Wen J-L, Qiu L, Zhu Y-H, Su Y-Q, Wei Q, Sun R-C (2017) The effects of autohydrolysis pretreatment on the structural characteristics, adsorptive and catalytic properties of the activated carbon prepared from Eucommia ulmoides Oliver based on a biorefinery process. Bioresour Technol 232:159–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.02.033

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Singh CK, Sahu JN, Mahalik KK, Mohanty CR, Mohan BR, Meikap BC (2008) Studies on the removal of Pb(II) from wastewater by activated carbon developed from Tamarind wood activated with sulphuric acid. J Hazard Mater 153:221–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.08.043

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Ajala LO, Ali EE, Obasi NA, Fasuan TO, Odewale IO, Igidi JO, Singh J (2021) Insights into purification of contaminated water with activated charcoal derived from hamburger seed coat. Int J Environ Sci Technol 2021:14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03577-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Ma RK, Qin XX, Liu ZG, Fu YL (2019) Adsorption property, kinetic and equilibrium studies of activated carbon fiber prepared from liquefied wood by Zncl(2) activation. Materials 12:15. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12091377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Yagmur E, Gokce Y, Tekin S, Semerci NI, Aktas Z (2020) Characteristics and comparison of activated carbons prepared from oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.) fruit using KOH and ZnCl2. Fuel 267:117232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2020.117232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Duan XL, Yuan CG, Jing TT, Yuan XD (2019) Removal of elemental mercury using large surface area micro-porous corn cob activated carbon by zinc chloride activation. Fuel 239:830–840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.11.017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Ahmedna M, Clarke S, Rao R, Marshall W, Johns M (1997) Use of filtration and buffers in raw sugar colour measurements. J Sci Food Agric 75:109–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Erto A, Giraldo L, Lancia A, Moreno-Pirajan JC (2013) A comparison between a low-cost sorbent and an activated carbon for the adsorption of heavy metals from water. Water Air Soil Pollut 224:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1531-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Huang Z, Zhang Y, Wang L, Ding L, Wang M, Yan H, Li Y, Zhu S (2009) Simultaneous determination of 103 pesticide residues in tea samples by LC-MS/MS. J Sep Sci 32:1294–1301. https://doi.org/10.1002/jssc.200800605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Joseph CG, Anisuzzaman SM, Daud WMAW, Krishnaiah D, Ng KA (2017) Chlorinated phenol removal from aqueous media by tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf waste tailored activated carbon. IOP Conf Ser Mater Sci Eng 206:012099. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/206/1/012099

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Gundogdu A, Duran C, Senturk HB, Soylak M, Imamoglu M, Onal Y (2013) Physicochemical characteristics of a novel activated carbon produced from tea industry waste. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis 104:249–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2013.07.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. El Nemr A, Aboughaly RM, El Sikaily A, Ragab S, Masoud MS, Ramadan MS (2021) Utilization of Citrus aurantium peels for sustainable production of high surface area type I microporous nano activated carbons. Biomass Convers Biorefinery 2021:19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01457-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Nemr AE, Aboughaly RM, El-Sikaily A, Ragab S, Ramadan MS, Biorefinery, (2021) Utilization of Citrus aurantium peels for sustainable production of high surface area type I microporous nano activated carbons. J Biomass Conversion. 2021:19

    Google Scholar 

  46. Kong HL, He J, Gao YZ, Wu HF, Zhu XZ (2011) Cosorption of phenanthrene and mercury(II) from aqueous solution by soybean stalk-based biochar. J Agric Food Chem 59:12116–12123. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf202924a

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Kim JW, Sohn MH, Kim DS, Sohn SM, Kwon YS (2001) Production of granular activated carbon from waste walnut shell and its adsorption characteristics for Cu(2+) ion. J Hazard Mater 85:301–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-3894(01)00239-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Xu F, Qi XY, Kong Q, Shu L, Miao MS, Xu SG, Du YD, Wang Q, Liu Q, Ma SS (2017) Adsorption of sunset yellow by luffa sponge, modified luffa and activated carbon from luffa sponge. Desalin Water Treat 96:86–96. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2017.20925

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Kong Q, Liu Q, Miao MS, Liu YZ, Chen QF, Zhao CS (2017) Kinetic and equilibrium studies of the biosorption of sunset yellow dye by alligator weed activated carbon. Desalin Water Treat 66:281–290. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2017.20223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Hamadeen HM, Elkhatib EA, Badawy MEI, Abdelgaleil SAM (2021) Green low cost nanomaterial produced from Moringa oleifera seed waste for enhanced removal of chlorpyrifos from wastewater: Mechanism and sorption studies. J Environ Chem Eng 9:14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.105376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Saha A, Gajbhiye VT, Gupta S, Kumar R, Ghosh RK (2014) Simultaneous removal of pesticides from water by rice husk ash: batch and column studies. Water Environ Res 86:2176–2185. https://doi.org/10.2175/106143014x14062131178358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Tabassum M, Bardhan M, Novera TM, Islam MA, Islam MA (2020) NaOH-activated betel nut husk hydrochar for efficient adsorption of Methylene Blue dye. J Water Air Soil Pollution 231:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Surip SN, Abdulhameed AS, Garba ZN, Syed-Hassan SSA, Ismail K, Jawad AH (2020) H2SO4-treated Malaysian low rank coal for methylene blue dye decolourization and cod reduction: optimization of adsorption and mechanism study. Surf Interfaces 21:100641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2020.100641

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Reddy B, Chakrapani C, Babu CS, Rao KS, Prasad M (2010) FT-IR, TG, XRD and SEM studies of activated carbons prepared from agricultural waste. Asian J Chem 22:1822–1828

    Google Scholar 

  55. Alfatah T, Mistar EM, Supardan MD (2021) Porous structure and adsorptive properties of activated carbon derived from Bambusa vulgaris striata by two-stage KOH/NaOH mixture activation for Hg2+ removal. J Water Process Eng 43:11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Karimi S, Yaraki MT, Karri RR (2019) A comprehensive review of the adsorption mechanisms and factors influencing the adsorption process from the perspective of bioethanol dehydration. Renew Sust Energ Rev 107:535–553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.03.025

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072203), Tianjin Synthetic Biotechnology Innovation Capacity Improvement Project (TSBICIP-KJGG-016), Tianjin Science and Technology Commission (S21JD1002), and Tianjin Municipal Education Commission (TD13-5013).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Xiaoli Bai and Bingyan Quan are equally contributed in this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology, College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China

    Xiaoli Bai, Bingyan Quan, Chaoyan Kang, Xianglong Zhang, Yu Zheng, Jia Song, Ting Xia & Min Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Core Technology in Innovative Chinese Medicine, Tasly Holding Group Co., Ltd, Tianjin, 300410, China

    Xiaoli Bai

Authors
  1. Xiaoli Bai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bingyan Quan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chaoyan Kang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xianglong Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yu Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Jia Song
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Ting Xia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Min Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Xiaoli Bai and Bingyan Quan: conceptualization, methodology, validation, data curation, writing — original draft, writing review and editing; Chaoyan Kang and Xianglong Zhang: data curation, formal analysis and methodology; Yu Zheng and Jia Song: validation, supervision, writing review and editing; Ting Xia and Min Wang: resources, project administration, supervision and funding acquisition.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ting Xia or Min Wang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 22 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bai, X., Quan, B., Kang, C. et al. Activated carbon from tea residue as efficient absorbents for environmental pollutant removal from wastewater. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 13, 13433–13442 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02316-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-02316-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation