Efficient removal of Remazol Brilliant Blue R from water by a cellulose-based activated carbon

Due to its wide application and high toxicity, Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) has become a fatal contaminate in aquatic environment. In this study, to remove RBBR, a cellulose-based activated carbon (CAC) was synthesized at 800 °C with a cellulose-based hydrocarbon (CHC) activated by NaOH. The CHC was synthesized by the hydrothermal method with microcrystalline cellulose and urea as raw materials. The CAC possessed great amounts of N and O-containing functional groups and had well-developed pore structure. The BET specific surface area of CAC reached up to 1872.30 m²/g. The maximum adsorption capacity of CAC on RBBR was 653.19 mg/g during which chemical adsorption was the dominant mechanism. Adsorption thermodynamics indicated that the adsorption of RBBR by CAC was exothermic and spontaneous. Regeneration adsorption and ion competition experiments showed that the material could be used repeatedly and had good anti-interference ability. In addition, the removal rates of RBBR by CAC in actual water bodies, including river water and artificial lake water, were above 99.40%. Therefore, the novel CAC shows great potential for the remediation of printing and dyeing wastewater.