DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v27i5.68

Keywords: Adsorption; adsorbent; ANB; dye removal; nanomagnetic

Abstract

Activated carbon adsorption is an effective approach for removing textile dyes from wastewater, given its simplicity, efficiency, and high performance. The selection of adsorbents for the adsorption process contributes to the performance of the percent removal. Thus, the efficacy of chemically Activated Nanomagnetic Biochar (ANB) was investigated as an adsorbent. Three types of wood waste biomasses (oil palm trunk, pinewood, and rubberwood) were selected to synthesize ANB. The activation of biochar by phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) introduced more pores, hence more surface area, leading to improved adsorption capacity. Additionally, chemical- Activated Biochar (AB) with magnetite (Fe₃O₄) was successfully synthesized via the coprecipitation technique and applied in Malachite Green (MG) dye removal. Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), as well as Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, were employed to characterize the synthesis of ANB. The prepared adsorbent contains a high specific surface area of 78.9727 m²/g, 69.4350 m²/g, and 66.7358 m²/g for ANBO, ANBP, and ANBR, respectively. FTIR analyses show that the surface formed functional groups, which were aliphatic and carbonyl functional groups. The results indicated that ANBO removed MG with an efficiency above 87% compared to other adsorbents. The results suggested the ANBO can be utilized as an adsorbent to eliminate MG dye from the wastewater.