Efficient removal of cationic dyes via activated carbon with ultrahigh specific surface derived from vinasse wastes

In this work, a simple and feasible approach for converting waste vinasse generated from the alcohol industries into high value-added activated carbon (AC) was proposed. The obtained AC possessed abundant micropores with micropore volume of 0.9613 cm³/g and ultrahigh specific surface areas (2015 m²/g), indicating prominent adsorption capacity. The adsorption ability of AC to cationic methylene blue (MB) was investigated systematically. The resultant AC exhibited superior adsorption ability to MB with a maximum amount of 2251 mg/g, derived from its excellent pore textural features and abundant surface O-containing functional groups. Moreover, AC showed excellent removal efficiency for treating industrial polyacrylonitrile wastewater with 99% removal within 60 min. Our results provide great inspirations in solid waste treatment and their high value-added transformation, meanwhile exploit a promising application of AC for practical wastewater purification.