Abstract
<jats:p>For the first time, an approach to the production of highly efficient porous carbon sorption materials based on lignocellulose agricultural waste has been developed and a comprehensive assessment of their physico-chemical properties has been carried out. Rice husks (RH), walnut shells (WSh), wheat straw (WSt) and pine sawdust (PS) were used as raw materials. The resulting carbonysates were chemically activated with potassium hydroxide at different mass ratios of the activating agent and the carbon matrix. To increase the surface chemical activity of sorbents, potassium hydroxide was used. The morphology of the surface and the elemental composition of the synthesized materials were studied using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersion analysis, and the functional groups were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It has been established that an increase in the degree of activation leads to the development of a hierarchical porous structure with the formation of micro-, meso- and macropores, as well as to an increase in the content of oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups on the surface of carbon materials. The greatest microporosity was achieved with a KOH:carbon mass ratio of 1:4. The formed functional structure helps to increase the sorption capacity of materials in relation to toxic pollutants of various nature. The results obtained confirm the prospects of using synthesized carbon sorbents as environmentally safe and economically feasible materials for cleaning air and water environments.</jats:p>