Study on preparation and adsorption properties of magnetic activated carbon

In order to improve the separability of powdered activated carbon, a new type of magnetic activated carbon was prepared using chemical co-precipitation. Using methylene blue as target pollutants, performance of the powdered magnetic activated carbon was studied under varied conditions of pH, contact time and initial methylene blue concentrations, via the comparison with powdered activated carbon. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of synthetic magnetic powdered activated carbon was higher than that of the powdered activated carbon, and an alkaline pH value and adequate contact time were favorable for the pollutants removal. Under the condition of 100 mg/L methylene blue concentration, 0.4 g/L magnetic activated carbon dosage of, pH 9 and a reaction time of 300 minutes, the removal rate of methylene blue reached 98.9%. The adsorption behavior of methylene blue on magnetic activated carbon fitted the Langmuir isotherm and Elovich dynamics model. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the adsorption was spontaneous endothermic reaction of single molecule layer, and the chemical adsorption played an important role during the adsorption process. The magnetic activated carbon had a good recyclable performance, it could complete precipitation in 10 minutes under natural condition, and could be quickly separated in 30 seconds under the action of outside magnetic field.