Development of Lignin-Based Mesoporous Carbons for the Adsorption of Humic Acid

Monika A Jedrzejczyk; Julian Engelhardt; Marko R Djokic; Vitaliy Bliznuk; Kevin M Van Geem; An Verberckmoes; Jeriffa De Clercq; Katrien V Bernaerts

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c01475

Development of Lignin-Based Mesoporous Carbons for the Adsorption of Humic Acid

ACS Omega. 2021 Jun 4;6(23):15222-15235. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c01475. eCollection 2021 Jun 15.

Authors

Monika A Jedrzejczyk¹, Julian Engelhardt¹, Marko R Djokic², Vitaliy Bliznuk³, Kevin M Van Geem², An Verberckmoes⁴, Jeriffa De Clercq⁴, Katrien V Bernaerts¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Science and Engineering, Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, Geleen 6167 RD, The Netherland.
² Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Laboratorium for Chemical Technology (LCT), Ghent University, Technologiepark 125, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
³ Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Electrical Energy, Metals, Mechanical Constructions and Systems, Ghent University, Technologiepark 46, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
⁴ Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering, Industrial Catalysis and Adsorption Technology (INCAT), Ghent University, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.

Abstract

There is an increasing urge to make the transition toward biobased materials. Lignin, originating from lignocellulosic biomass, can be potentially valorized as humic acid (HA) adsorbents via lignin-based mesoporous carbon (MC). In this work, these materials were synthesized for the first time starting from modified lignin as the carbon precursor, using the soft-template methodology. The use of a novel synthetic approach, Claisen rearrangement of propargylated lignin, and a variety of surfactant templates (Pluronic, Kraton, and Solsperse) have been demonstrated to tune the properties of the resulting MCs. The obtained materials showed tunable properties (BET surface area: 95-367 m²/g, pore size: 3.3-36.6 nm, V _BJH pore volume: 0.05-0.33 m³/g, and carbon and oxygen content: 55.5-91.1 and 3.0-12.2%, respectively) and good performance in terms of one of the highest HA adsorption capacities reported for carbon adsorbents (up to 175 mg/g).