Łątka Piotr, Olszański Bazyli, Żurowska Magdalena, Dębosz Marek, Rokicińska Anna, Kuśtrowski Piotr
Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Kraków, Poland.
Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences, Jagiellonian University, St. Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Kraków, Poland.
Molecules. 2024 Feb 22;29(5):960. doi: 10.3390/molecules29050960.
In this work, a synthesis and activation path, which enabled the preparation of spherical activated carbon from a lignin precursor, characterized by high adsorption capacity in the removal of phenolic compounds from water, was successfully developed. Two industrial by-products, i.e., Kraft lignin and sodium lignosulfonate, were used to form spherical nanometric lignin grains using pH and solvent shift methods. The obtained materials became precursors to form porous activated carbons via chemical activation (using KCO or ZnCl as activating agents) and carbonization (in the temperature range of 600-900 °C). The thermal stabilization step at 250 °C was necessary to ensure the sphericity of the grains during high-temperature heat treatment. The study investigated the influence of the type of chemical activator used, its quantity, and the method of introduction into the lignin precursor, along with the carbonization temperature, on various characteristics including morphology (examined by scanning electron microscopy), the degree of graphitization (evaluated by powder X-ray diffraction), the porosity (assessed using low-temperature N adsorption), and the surface composition (analyzed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) of the produced carbons. Finally, the carbon materials were tested as adsorbents for removing phenol from an aqueous solution. A conspicuous impact of microporosity and a degree of graphitization on the performance of the investigated adsorbents was found.
在本研究中，成功开发了一种合成与活化路径，该路径能够以木质素为前驱体制备球形活性炭，所制备的活性炭对水中酚类化合物具有高吸附容量。利用两种工业副产品，即硫酸盐木质素和木质素磺酸钠，通过pH值和溶剂转移法制备出球形纳米级木质素颗粒。通过化学活化（使用KCO或ZnCl作为活化剂）和碳化（在600 - 900℃温度范围内），所得材料成为形成多孔活性炭的前驱体。在250℃进行热稳定化步骤对于确保高温热处理过程中颗粒的球形度是必要的。该研究考察了所用化学活化剂的类型、其用量、引入木质素前驱体的方法以及碳化温度对所制备碳材料的各种特性的影响，这些特性包括形态（通过扫描电子显微镜检查）、石墨化程度（通过粉末X射线衍射评估）、孔隙率（使用低温N吸附进行评估）以及表面组成（用X射线光电子能谱分析）。最后，对碳材料作为从水溶液中去除苯酚的吸附剂进行了测试。发现微孔率和石墨化程度对所研究吸附剂的性能有显著影响。
