Preparation of microporous activated carbon from Aegle Marmelos fruit shell and its application in removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous phase

Microporous activated carbon (MAC) was prepared from an economically feasible plant precursor i.e. Aegle Marmelos fruit shell by ZnCl2 activation. The MAC prepared at optimum conditions exhibited high micropore surface area (1339 m(2)/g) and micropore volume (0.48 cm(3)/g). Prepared MAC was applied for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. The adsorption equilibrium was well explained by the Freundlich isotherm and the process followed the pseudo-second order kinetics. The results obtained showed that the film diffusion was rate controlling mechanism. The prepared MAC showed better adsorption capacity towards Cr(VI). The process was modeled by using 2(4) full factorial designs (FFD). (C) 2016 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.