MJAS Vol 28 No 1 (2024)

Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences, Vol 28 No 1 (2024): 10 -20

PEROXYMONOSULFATE ACTIVATION USING NITROGEN-DOPED BIOCHAR FOR ACID ORANGE 7 REMOVAL IN WATER

(Pengaktifan Peroksimonosulfat dengan Bioarang Terdop Nitrogen untuk Penyingkiran Asid Oren 7 dalam Air)

Mohamed Faisal Gasim, Nivethah Sivam, and Wen-Da Oh^*

School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia

^*Corresponding author: ohwenda@usm.my

Received: 18 August 2023; Accepted: 21 December 2023; Published: 28 February 2024

Abstract

In this study, N-doped plastic-derived biochar was synthesized at different synthesis temperatures (600, 700 and 800 ºC) using a facile one-pot pyrolysis technique. The as-prepared N-doped biochars were employed to investigate the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the biochar characteristics and catalytic performance as peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator for acid orange 7 (AO7) removal. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that the N-doped biochar consists of amorphous carbon whereas the field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images illustrated that the catalysts have microparticles morphology with porous features. The N-doped biochar synthesized at 800 ºC (N-800) displayed the best performance with 98% AO7 removed in 30 min (pseudo first-order rate constant, k_app = 0.211 min^-1). The k_app was positively affected by increasing the PMS dosage and N-800 loading while neutral condition (pH = 7) was optimum for AO7 removal. The scavenger study suggests that singlet oxygen (¹O₂) was the dominant reactive oxygen species (ROS) in this reaction system as sodium azide (NaN₃) scavenger inhibited the AO7 removal by 80%. N-800 catalytic performance in removing AO7 was reduced from 97 to 22% after four consecutive cycles due to irreversible adsorption and oxidation of active sites. Overall, the N-800 was able to activate PMS effectively with a promising potential for sustainable azo dye removal. Future-wise, the employment of co-doping other heteroatoms (such as S, B) into N-doped plastic-derived biochar for synergistic effects should be investigated.

Keywords: advanced oxidation process, peroxymonosulfate, acid orange 7, nitrogen doping, biochar

Abstrak

Dalam kajian ini, bioarang terdop N telah disintesis daripada plastik pada suhu sintesis yang berbeza (600, 700 dan 800 ºC) dengan menggunakan teknik pirolisis satu periuk. Bioarang terdop N yang disediakan telah digunakan untuk menyiasat kesan suhu pirolisis ke atas ciri-ciri bioarang dan prestasi sebagai pemangkin bagi pengaktifan peroksimonosulfat (PMS) untuk penyingkiran asid oren 7 (AO7). Analisa pembelauan sinar-X menunjukkan bioarang terdop N terdiri daripada karbon amorfus manakala mikroskop elektron pengimbasan pelepasan medan (FESEM) menggambarkan bahawa pemangkin mempunyai morfologi mikrozarah dengan ciri berliang. Bioarang terdop N yang disintesis pada 800 ºC (N-800) menunjukkan prestasi terbaik dengan penyingkiran 98% AO7 dalam 30 min (pemalar kadar pseudo tertib pertama, k_app = 0.211 min^-1). Didapati k_appmeningkat dengan peningkatan dos PMS dan pemuatan N-800 manakala pH 7 merupakan pH terbaik bagi penyingkiran AO7. Kajian mengunakan perencat radikal natrium azida (NaN₃) menunjukkan bahawa oksigen singlet (¹O₂) adalah spesies oksigen reaktif (ROS) yang dominan dalam sistem tindak balas ini. Prestasi pemangkin N-800 dalam penyingkiran AO7 telah berkurangan daripada 97 kepada 22% selepas empat kitaran berturut-turut disebabkan oleh penjerapan tidak berbalik dan pengoksidaan tapak aktif. Secara keseluruhan, N-800 dapat mengaktifkan PMS dengan berkesan dan menunjukkan potensi penyingkiran pewarna azo yang mampan. Dalam masa hadapan, pendopan bioarang terdop N terbitan plastik bersama heteroatom lain (seperti S, B) perlu disiasat untuk kesan sinergistik.

Kata kunci: proses pengoksidaan lanjutan, peroksimonosulfat, asid oren 7, nitrogen terdop, bioarang

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