Modification of the surface of raw activated carbon using chemical solvents can significantly improve the adsorption performance of activated carbon. Triethylenetetramine is one of the most important chemical solvents used to modify raw activated carbon for formaldehyde removal indoor. We conducted the liquid impregnation experiments at different initial concentrations, temperatures, adsorbent dosage and time ranges to fully investigate the adsorption of triethylenetetramine on the surface of raw activated carbon for modification. We found that the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-first-order kinetic model fit quite well with the experimental data and the R2 are 0.9883 and 0.9954, respectively. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacity is 166.67 mg/g. The change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG0), enthalpy change (ΔH0) and entropy change (ΔS0) were also calculated to study the direction and driving force of the liquid adsorption process. In order to understand the adsorption process at the molecular level, a new activated carbon model based on the actual physical and chemical properties of activated carbon was carefully established in the Materials Studio to simulate the liquid-phase adsorption. The pore structure, elemental composition, functional group content, density, pore volume, and porosity of the activated carbon model converge close to the actual activated carbon and the adsorption isotherms obtained from the simulation agree well with the experimental results. The results show that the adsorption of triethylenetetramine on activated carbon is a spontaneous, endothermic and monolayer physical adsorption process.

In this study, superior carbon nanotubes (CNT) were chemically modified with itaconic acid (IA) and a polyaniline (PANI) composite was formed and used to remove methylene blue (MB) dye from an aqueous solution. The capacity of CNTs modified with IA (IA/CNT) and composited with PANI (PANI/CNT) to remove MB dye from an aqueous solution was compared and investigated. The effects of parameters such as pH (3–10), adsorbent dose (0.8–8 g/L), initial dye concentration (10–100 mg/L), and temperature (25–55 °C) on MB adsorption were investigated. IA/CNT and PANI/CNT adsorbents were characterized by analyzes such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET). It was determined that the isotherm data fit the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) of PANI/CNT and IA/CNT calculated according to this model (at 25 °C) was 12.78 and 32.78 mg g− 1, respectively. Thermodynamic analysis results showed that the adsorption was exothermic, feasible, and spontaneous. It can be said that the possible mechanism of MB on PANI/CNT and IA/CNT adsorbents occurs with the participation of π–π interaction, electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bonding.

Bagasse fly ash (BFA) is one of the important wastes generated in the sugar industry; it has been studied as a prospective low-cost adsorbent in the removal of congo red (CR) from aqueous solutions. Chemical treatment with H2O2 was applied in order to modify the adsorbability of the raw BFA. Batch studies were performed to evaluate the influence of various experimental parameters such as dye solution pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, and temperature. Both the adsorbents were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrophotometer and nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. Equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of CR were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models using non-linear regression technique. Intraparticle diffusion seems to control the CR removal process. The obtained experimental data can be well described by Langmuir and also followed second order kinetic models. The calculated thermodynamic parameters indicate the feasibility of the adsorption process for the studied adsorbents. The results indicate that BFA can be efficiently used for the treatment of waste water containing dyes.

The equilibrium and dynamic adsorption of methylene blue from aqueous solutions by activated carbons have been studied. The equilibrium studies have been carried out on two samples of activated carbon fibres and two samples of granulated activated carbons. These activated carbons have different BET surface areas and are associated with varying amounts of carbon oxygen surface groups. The amounts of these surface groups was enhanced by oxidation with HNO3 and O2 gas at 350℃ and decreased by degassing at increasing temperatures of 400˚, 650˚ and 950℃. The adsorption increases on oxidation of the carbon surface and decreases on degassing. The increase in adsorption has been attributed to the formation of acidic carbon-oxygen surface groups and the decrease in adsorption on degassing to their elimination. The dynamic adsorption studies have been carried out on the two granulated activated carbons using two 50 mm diameter glass columns at a feed concentration of 300 mg/L and at different hydraulic loading rates (HLR) and bed heights. The minimum achievable concentrations are comparatively lower while the adsorption capacities are higher for GAC-S under the same operating conditions. The adsorption capacity of a carbon increases with increase in HLR but the rate of increase decreases at higher HLR values.

The two-step surface modifications of activated carbon was carried out to improve the adsorption capacity of toxic heavy metal ions in liquid phase. Physical and chemical properties of the as-received activated carbon (AC) and two kinds of surface-modified activated carbons (1stAC and 2ndAC) were evaluated through the BET analysis, surface acidity, and oxides measurements. Specific surface area and pore volume did not significantly change, but surface oxide-group remarkably increased by the surface modification. Equilibrium and batch adsorptions of the various metals, such as Pb, Cd, and Cr, using AC, 1stAC, and 2ndAC were performed at initial pH 5. The adsorption capacity and rate of 2ndAC were higher than those of AC and 1stAC. The carboxylic/sodium carboxylate complex groups were developed from the two-step surface modification of activated carbon, which strongly affected the adsorption of metal ions.

Adsorption experiments of binary mixed gases composed of acetone/methylethylketone (MEK), MEK/benzene, MEK/toluene, and benzene/toluene were carried out on activated carbon fixed-bed. The variations of equilibrium adsorption capacity according to type and fraction of binary gas were investigated. In case of binary gases composed of acetone/MEK and benzene/toluene, equilibrium adsorption capacities of MEK and toluene were increased according to the increase of fraction of MEK and toluene, but equilibrium adsorption capacities of acetone and benzene were decreased. In case of binary gases composed of MEK/benzene and MEK/toluene, equilibrium adsorption capacities of benzene and toluene were increased according to the increase of fraction of benzene and toluene, but equilibrium adsorption capacities of MEK was decreased.

In order to develop a dye coloring technology on Conchiolin layer in cultured pearls, appropriate dyes were selected, their solubilities in various solvents were studied, and adsorption and desorption experiments were performed. Solubilities of several basic dyes known to suitable for the pearl coloring, i.e., Rhodamine 6G(R6), Rhodamine B(RB) and Methylene Blue(MB), in several solvents (distilled water, methanol, ethanol, and acetone) were investigated. Among these dyes, R6 was chosen as a dye for single component adsorption and desorption experiment due to the relatively good solubility in various solvents tested. Solubilities of dyes were judged to be enough to color the pearls since dye concentrations in pearl coloring are, in general, not so high. The internal surface area of the pearl layer is believed to be directly related to the dye adsorption; the single-point internal surface area of the pearl layer measured at the nitrogen relative pressure of 0.3 was found to be 0.913㎡/g, and the BET internal surface area, 1.01㎡/g. The most probable diameters of micropores and macropores were found to be 40Å and 5000Å, repectively, from the pore size distribution d/ata. Adsorption isotherm was well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model, resulting in q=1.62C/1+1.09C˙