Utilização de resíduos da produção de farinha de trigo como material adsorvente dos corantes têxteis índigo carmim e azul de metileno

Abstract

The use of solid waste as precursor materials for the production of activated carbon is an alternative that, in addition to providing a new destination for these materials, can be applied in the treatment of effluents containing dyes. In this context, the present work aimed to evaluate the adsorption capacity of activated carbon samples prepared from wheat flour production residues. Initially, the residue samples were thermally activated at different temperatures (350 °C, 450 °C, 550 °C and 650 °C) and then chemically activated using hydrogen peroxide. After preparation, activated carbons were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric (TG), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and specific surface area using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. Activated carbon samples were also evaluated through adsorption studies for the removal of methylene blue cationic dye and indigo carmine anionic dye. FT-IR spectra showed the complete carbonization of the residues of wheat flour production in different activation temperatures. The TG analyzes showed that there were degradation of lignocellulosic materials in the second stage of decomposition. SEM results showed that the structure of the materials has a very heterogeneous morphology, with particles of varied shapes and sizes. In relation to the specific surface area (BET), the largest area found was for the CAS550 sample (296,026 m² g-1). The specific surface area increased with the increase of the activation temperature of the coals, which allowed the material to be activated. It was also observed that the structure of the activated carbons consists, for the most part, of mesopores (pore size > 20 Å). In relation to the adsorption tests using methylene blue as adsorbate, the isotherm that best fit the experimental data was Freundlich. For the tests using indigo carmine as adsorbate, the best fit isotherm was Freundlich, except for coals samples obtained from straw, in which the best fit is the Langmuir isotherm. Among the materials studied, the coal sample with the highest adsorption capacity for methylene blue was activated at 450 °C, where the KF value was 5,569 mg kg-1 for the PF450 coal sample. The KF values for the charcoal samples using indigo carmine were not very satisfactory, however the Adsmax value was 1,667 mg kg-1 for the PAL450 sample. Finally, the activated carbons produced were good adsorbents for the removal of the dyes, especially methylene blue, and could be an alternative for the reuse of waste, minimizing environmental impacts.