High-efficiency adsorption and regeneration of methylene blue and aniline onto activated carbon from waste edible fungus residue and its possible mechanism

Edible fungus residue as an efficient and low-cost precursor was used to produce Edible Fungus residue Activated Carbon (EFAC) using the zinc chloride activation method at a 1 : 2 impregnation ratio and 600 °C activation for 3 hours. The activation process does not need gases like nitrogen and is suitable for mass production. Fungal biodegradation facilitates efficient chemical activation, which might have generated abundant pores on the activated carbon sample. Using BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and FTIR characterization, reveals that EFAC exhibits a large specific surface area (1070 m² g^-1), and large pore volume (0.68 cm³ g^-1), with its surface displaying a honeycomb-like structure. The EFAC adsorbs methylene blue (MB) and aniline in water, with maximum adsorptions of 662.25 and 27.10 mg g^-1, respectively. Various adsorption conditions, such as the EFAC dosage, pH, contact time and initial concentration were investigated. The adsorption is characterized by the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models, with thermodynamics studies indicating that the adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous. Furthermore, the EFAC exhibited good regeneration performance by a 90% ethanol solution. The EFAC is a low-cost and environmentally friendly adsorbent for removing organic contaminants in wastewater.