Impact of modification by red mud components on the sorption properties of activated carbon

Improving existing commercial adsorption materials, such as activated carbon, is an important practical task, as it leads to developing more active and versatile sorbents that can effectively treat a variety of wastewater. The paper proposes the modification of the activated carbon brand F300 by impregnation with red mud components as a cheap modification method. The study of the morphological characteristics and sorption properties of a commercial activated carbon sample was carried out by the spectromicroscopy method. The pore size and specific surface were determined by the method of low-temperature nitrogen sorption-desorption. Bem's method determined the number and type of surface groups of the investigated sorption materials. The adsorption activity to organic compounds (natural organic matter, surfactants, and dyes) was studied by the spectrophotometric method and by the change in total organic carbon content. As a research result, an increase in the sorption capacity of activated carbon impregnated by red mud components was established by 2.6 times compared to F300 activated carbon for surfactants and 23.7 times for natural organic matter due to an increase in the limit of sorption from 2.4 mg⋅g−1 for F300 activated carbon to 57.8 mg⋅g−1 for modified activated carbon by red mud components. Thus, activated carbon modification by red mud components is a promising direction for increasing the sorption activity of existing commercial sorbents