Meso/micropore-controlled hierarchical porous carbon derived from activated biochar as a high-performance adsorbent for copper removal

High-quality meso/micropore-controlled hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) was synthesized by a hard template method utilizing rice husk biochar and then used to adsorb copper ions from an aqueous solution. The preparation procedure included two main steps: base leaching and physicochemical activation. During the activation process, the porosity characteristics (i.e., specific surface area and meso/micropore ratio) were controlled by altering the KOH impregnation ratio, activation time, and temperature under the CO2 atmosphere. In addition, a copper adsorption study was performed using three HPC samples with different pore structures and characteristics. The results of this study indicate that the adsorption capacity of HPC material derived from rice husk biochar is strongly influenced by its meso/micropore ratio. As evidenced, HPC 3-0.5-800, which was impregnated by a KOH:biochar ratio of 3 and activated at 800°C for 0.5h under a CO2 atmosphere, has a very high specific surface area of 2330 m2g−1 with an 81% mesopore to total specific surface area. Importantly, it exhibited a superior adsorption capacity of 265mgg−1 and rapid adsorption kinetics for copper ions. The improvement is ascribed to the high specific surface area and favorable hierarchical structure. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of controlling the hierarchical pore structure of rice husk biochar-derived carbons as high-performance adsorbents for copper ion removal from water. [Display omitted] •3D-HPC was fabricated from rice husk biochar.•3D-HPC with controlled porosity was prepared by a physicochemical activation method.•The hierarchical porous carbon adsorbent exhibited a high performance for Cu(II) adsorption.•The meso/micropore ratio played an important role in the high copper removal efficiency of HPC.