Approaches for Impregnation of Activated Carbon for Wastewater Treatment

Activated carbon (AC) has been widely used for a very long time as a powerful adsorbent for a wide range of contaminants, including organic, inorganic, and heavy metals. The main drivers for the use of AC are the wide availability, low cost, being sourced from coal, graphite, carbon-based material such as agricultural residues and wastes, and addition to reusability or regenerate-ability. However, one of the main challenges with AC is its hydrophobicity and low activity; hence activation of AC is essential before use for a specific application. In this regard, chemical and physical activation methods have been widely applied for AC activation, with more effective chemical methods. Activated AC has shown better structural and textural properties, resulting in much higher adsorption affinity toward the adsorbate under study relative to the raw AC. In this work, we discuss the different chemical activation of AC according to the chemical reagent used. The discussion is expanded to demonstrate the enhanced adsorption performance of activated AC. The demonstrations explored a wide range of adsorbates, including heavy metals such as arsenic AS, complex organic compounds such as amino acids. The activated AC has shown very high removal efficiency with efficient regeneration and recyclability of the spent AC.