Coffea Rubiaceae Biochar for Removing Organic Dyes from Aqueous Media
Authors: Sabir Ameel , Ortega. Dairina Hernandez , Russo Nicholas , Quach Qui , Abdel-Fattah Tarek M 
Published: February 2024

High surface area materials with appropriate function groups used for removing pollutants from aqueous media [1-10]. Organic dyes are a toxic product of printing textiles, paper products, and manufacturing of plastics. In these processes the synthetic pigment can breach local waterways leading to decrease water transparency and consume oxygen which would lead to the destruction of aquatic life. The effects of cationic and anionic dyes such as Methylene Blue (MB) and Congo Red (CR) can result in the development of permanent gene mutations and cancer. As many techniques to treat the removal of organic dye contaminants from an aqueous medium are being developed, the most effective and cost-efficient method is absorption. Many adsorbents have been shown to be effective in absorbing organic molecules. Some adsorbents such as biochar can be cheaply and easily synthesized from waste materials or biomasses. It is estimated that approximately 18 tons of waste Coffea Rubiaceae grounds are generated every year and often end up in landfill. In this study, we aim to synthesize biochar from Coffea Rubiaceae ground. The synthesized Coffea Rubiaceae ground biochar is applied in removing organic dyes including CR and MB. The Coffea Rubiaceae ground was treated with concentrated phosphoric acid and then activated at high temperature. The obtained product was characterized by Powdered X-ray Diffraction (P-XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The adsorption process will be examined under various temperature, pH, concentrations of biochar, and in the presence of interfering species. The concentration of dyes will be monitored by UV-spectrophotometer. In the study, the isotherm study showed that the biochar was capable of removing 98% of methylene blue and 73% of Congo Red. The preliminary result indicated the potential of Coffea Rubiaceae ground biochar in environmental remediation.

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