CHARACTERIZATION AND AMOXICILLIN ADSORPTION OF KOH MODIFIED HYDROCHAR FROM DISTILLED WASTE OF LEMONGRASS

Abstract

In this study, we focused on studying the synthesis of hydrochar from distilled waste of lemongrass by hydrothermal method and then was activated by 5 M KOH at room temperature for 24 h (TSHS). The TSHS material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and analysis of specific surface (BET). It shows that, the TSHS was in the form of amorphous carbon, rich in organic functional groups, the BET surface area was 24.6 m²/g. Several factors affecting to the adsorption process of AMO in aqueous media by TSHS were evaluated: pH, initial AMO concentration, the TSHS dosage, the adsorption time. The results showed that: the adsorption was the most effective at pH of 5, adsorption equilibrium was reached at 3 h, the smaller the initial AMO concentration (5 – 10 ppm) and the higher the TSHS dose (3.0 – 5.0 g/L), the adsorption efficiency was about 90%. The experimental adsorption process was consistent with Freundlich isotherm adsorption model and the second-order kinetic model. It means that, the adsorption mechanism terminates both physical adsorption and chemical adsorption.