Nitric Acid-Induced Surface Chemical Modification of Walnut Shell-Derived Activated Carbon for Enhanced Adsorption of Reactive Brilliant Red HE-3B Dye from Aqueous Solution

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Engineering sciences, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), P.O. Box: 1435763811, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Arts, Technical and Vocational University (TVU), P.O. Box: 1435763811, Tehran, Iran

10.30509/jcst.2026.167835.1287

Abstract

In this study, activated carbon derived from walnut shells was chemically activated with phosphoric acid and subsequently oxidized with nitric acid to modify its surface chemistry. Its performance in removing reactive brilliant red HE-3B from aqueous solutions was investigated. The results showed that nitric acid oxidation, despite reducing the specific surface area from 1189 to 903 m² g⁻¹ and the total pore volume from 0.63 to 0.42 cm³ g⁻¹, improved adsorption performance. At pH 2, an initial dye concentration of 50 mg L⁻¹, a contact time of 60 min, and an adsorbent dosage of 0.1 g, the removal efficiencies of HE-3B by the pristine and oxidized activated carbons were 61 and 65 %, respectively. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic. Overall, the results demonstrated that surface chemical modification enhanced HE-3B adsorption by increasing interactions with dye molecules, highlighting the importance of both structural and surface chemical properties in designing bio-based adsorbents.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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