Production, characterization and application of activated carbon from brewer’s spent grain lignin

Abstract

Different types of activated carbon were prepared by chemical activation of brewer's spent grain (BSG) lignin using H(3)PO(4) at various acid/lignin ratios (1, 2, or 3g/g) and carbonization temperatures (300, 450, or 600 degrees C), according to a 2(2) full-factorial design. The resulting materials were characterized with regard to their surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution, and used for detoxification of BSG hemicellulosic hydrolysate (a mixture of sugars, phenolic compounds, metallic ions, among other compounds). BSG carbons presented BET surface areas between 33 and 692 m(2)/g, and micro- and mesopores with volumes between 0.058 and 0.453 cm(3)/g. The carbons showed high capacity for adsorption of metallic ions, mainly nickel, iron, chromium, and silicon. The concentration of phenolic compounds and color were also reduced by these sorbents. These results suggest that activated carbons with characteristics similar to those commercially found and high adsorption capacity can be produced from BSG lignin.

Brewer's spent grain from different types of malt: Evaluation of the antioxidant activity and identification of the major phenolic compounds

“…Nevertheless, it is a lignocellulosic material that can be better used, since it is rich in oligo-and polysaccharides as well as in polyphenols (Mussatto, 2009). Several attempts have been made to reuse this material for industrial applications such as the production of alpha-amylase (Hashemi, Razavi, Shojaosadati, & Mousavi, 2011), activated carbon (Mussatto et al, 2010), ethanol (White, Yohannan, & Walker, 2008), lactic acid (Mussatto, Fernandes, Dragone, Mancilha, & Roberto, 2007)and xylitol (Mussatto & Roberto, 2005).…”

Synthesis and characterization of magnetic activated carbon developed from palm kernel shells

“…Palm kernel shells are rather cheaper compared to some other agricultural byproducts. Further, in recent years, there is an increased interest in the production of AC from renewable sources, with a substantial supply of cost-saving industrial and agricultural by-products such as almond shells [17], bamboo [18], apricot shells [19], sugarcane lignin (Ribeiro et al 2006), Brewer's spent grain lignin [20] and oil palm shell [21].…”

Adsorption of heavy metals by agroforestry waste derived activated carbons applied to aqueous solutions

“…Worldwide, research has been focused on the indigenous production of water treatment chemicals using locally available raw materials (Farooq et al, 2010;Mussatto et al, 2010;Rivera-Utrilla et al, 2011). Among many water treatment technologies, utilizing plant residues as adsorbents for the removal of dyes and metal ions from wastewater is a prominent technology (Kadirvelu et al, 2001).…”

“…Despite its frequent use in the water and waste industries, activated carbon remains an expensive material (Farooq et al, 2010;Mussatto et al, 2010). In view of the high cost of activated carbon, a lot of research has been directed to the development of low-cost activated carbon from cheap and readily available materials.…”