Preparation of green alga-based activated carbon with lower impregnation ratio and less activation time by potassium tartrate for adsorption of chloramphenicol

•Potassium tartrate was a novel activating agent to prepare activated carbon.•Optimum activated carbon (AC-PT) owned high specific surface area of 1692 m2/g.•AC-PT was prepared by less activating agent and activation time.•AC-PT had high adsorption capacity of 709.2 mg/g towards chloramphenicol.

Potassium tartrate (C4H6K2O7) was utilized as a novel activating agent to prepare activated carbon with relatively high specific surface area by using less activating agent and activation time from marine waste-green alga (Enteromorpha prolifera) for the first time. The influences of activation temperature, impregnation ratio and activation time on the pore structure were investigated to obtain the optimum conditions (activation temperature: 700 °C, impregnation ratio: 1:1, and activation time: 30 min). Meanwhile, the activation temperature was evaluated to be the essential factor that dominated the form of pore structure in activated carbon. The green alga-based activated carbon that was prepared under optimum conditions has shown the high surface area of 1692 m2/g and total pore volume of 1.22 cm3/g, which could be used as an effective adsorbent to remove chloramphenicol. The thermodynamic data of chloramphenicol were well fitted by Langmuir isotherm model and the green alga-based activated carbon has showed high adsorption capacity of 709.2 mg/g towards chloramphenicol.