Activated Carbon Production from Biomass and its Use in Industrial Effluent Treatment
Rafael Pochmann Ferreira, Felipe de Aguiar Linhares, Pedro Juarez Melo, Dirléia dos Santos Lima Bortoletti, Nilson Romeu Marcilio Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) 2026-06-27

Abstract

This study evaluates the feasibility of converting black wattle (acacia mearsii) bark residue - a byproduct of tannin extraction - into activated carbon (AC) for wastewater treatment. In southern Brazil, the industrial sector generates approximately 250 t/day of this residue, which is typically landfilled or composted. To add value to this waste, AC was produced via pyrolysis and chemical activation with H3PO4. The resulting material was characterized using elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) analyses, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Barret-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) methods. Elemental analysis of the raw bark revealed a 51.4% carbon content. The produced AC achieved a specific surface area of 906 m²/g, significantly outperforming commercial activated carbon (CAC), which reached 597 m²/g. SEM images confirmed a highly developed porous structure. Performance tests for methylene blue dye removal demonstrated that the bark-derived AC is more effective than commercial alternatives, highlighting its potential as a high-performance, sustainable adsorbent for industrial effluent treatment.

Key words: Activeted carbon; biomass; effluent treatment; methylene blue dye

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