Potential utilization of Jatropha curcas L. press-cake residue as new precursor for activated carbon preparation: Application in methylene blue removal from aqueous solution

Low cost activated carbon was prepared from the press-cake residue of Jatropha curcas L. The effectiveness of this activated carbon and its modified forms (chemical and thermal activation) was evaluated for methylene blue (MB) dye removal from aqueous solution. Adsorption experiments were conducted in batch system at various pH and temperatures. The widely used isotherm models, Langmuir and Freundlich, were employed to represent equilibrium data. Kinetic data were analyzed using pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order model. Thermodynamic properties (ΔG0, ΔH0 and ΔS0) of the adsorption of methylene blue onto Jatropha carbons were also obtained. The thermal activated carbon (JAC-3) was more effective for MB dye removal compared to chemical (JAC-2) and parent (JAC-1) activated carbon.