Cotton Spinning Waste as a Microporous Activated Carbon: Application to Remove Sulfur Compounds in a Tunisian Refinery Company

The petroleum industry plays a vital role in the economies of developing countries. Refinery wastewater pollution has increased recent years due to increase industrial and urban use products. present work demonstrates how textile waste can be modified into material that effectively remove sulfur pollutants from refinery wastewater. An economic activated carbon (AC) was developed by using cotton spinning company. chemical activation carried out nitric acid (HNO3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), potassium hydroxide (KOH). characterization obtained carbons performed SEM, BET, FTIR techniques. effect experimental adsorption condition investigated both bed batch isotherms. results show effluent flow highest on compound adsorption. greatest capacity compounds found around 168.4 mg·g?1. equilibrium data were Freundlich, Langmuir, Dubinin–Radushkevich, Tóth, Sips isotherm models. Langmuir model exhibited best fit (R² = 0.98) for compounds’ adsorption, which implies their onto synthesized AC homogeneous. kinetic tested with pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, intraparticular diffusion equations. pseudo-second-order equation described well 0.99), indicating this may restricted chemisorption process. These properties under optimal conditions make ACs suitable treatment.