The absorption of triclosan on the surface of four different carbon adsorbents, obtained on the base of plant and household waste (RDF), provided by Sofia Waste Plant, was investigated. The obtained results indicate that the most important parameters, which determine the process of triclosan adsorption by adsorbent surface are pore texture, the size of the accessible surface for the molecules of triclosan, and the chemical nature of the adsorbent surface. It was found that the obtained adsorbents can be successfully applied for the extraction of triclosan from waste and drinking water. The possibilities for solid products, obtained by thermal treatment of household and vegetable waste, to be applied successfully in a water purification technique are discussed.

Nanoporous carbon is synthesized on the base of phenol-formaldehyde resin and polyolefin wax, a by-product from industrial production of polyethylene at low pressure. The adsrption of phenol derivates from aqueous solutions on obtained carbon material was studied. The adsorption capacity of the carbon is related to the surface area and composition of the synthesized material, as well as to the nature of the adsorbent. The obtained adsorbent is characterized by high surface area and porosity, and it demonstrates high adsorption capacity towards aromatic compounds. All studied phenolic compounds show high affinity towards carbon, confirming that the retention mechanism occurs via non-specific interactions between the electronic density of the adsorbent and molecules of aromatic pollutants. Electrostatic interactions may also appear depending on pH of the solution pH and charge distribution of the carbons; and these effects has a strong influence on the final performance of the carbon.

Carbon foam is a sophisticated porous material with wide applications that depend on its structure, low density, thermal conductivity and electrical characteristics. This study deals with the preparation of carbon foam by the thermo-oxidative modification with HNO₃ of mixtures containing different organic materials with appropriate chemical characteristics—furfural and tar pitch derived from RDF. Carbon foam is characterized by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, elemental analysis, Raman spectroscopy, N₂ sorption, infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron spectroscopy. The investigation of adsorption activity of carbon foam towards nickel (II) in water solution is carried out. Experimental results fit very well with the Langmuir adsorption model. The carbon foam, obtained from tar pitch derived from RDF and furfural, shows a high adsorption capacity towards nickel ions (203.67 mg/g). The high adsorption capacity could be explained by the properties of the adsorbent—moderately high surface area, micro-mesoporous texture and presence of oxygen-containing surface groups.

Water contamination with surface-active agents, such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), represents a serious environmental concern, driving the need for efficient and low-cost alternative adsorbents as a step toward sustainable waste valorization. In this study, waste biomass derived from plum stones, date stones, and walnut shells was successfully transformed into activated carbons via chemical activation using potassium hydroxide (KOH) at 850 °C with a 1:1 impregnation ratio. The synthesized materials underwent comprehensive physicochemical characterization utilizing TG-DSC, elemental analysis, Boehm titration, SEM, TEM, and nitrogen physisorption (BET), whereas their adsorption performance was evaluated against aqueous SLS solutions across various concentrations. The obtained results reveal a predominantly microporous structure with a high specific surface area, reaching up to 1059.01 m²/g for ACdate. The equilibrium adsorption data were well described by the Langmuir isotherm model, which yielded model-estimated asymptotic adsorption capacities (q_m) of 219.70 mg/g for ACwalnut, 178.25 mg/g for ACdate, and 57.80 mg/g for ACplum. These values represent Langmuir-derived model parameters rather than experimentally attained adsorption capacities within the investigated concentration range. Notably, despite having a lower specific surface area than ACdate, ACwalnut exhibited the highest Langmuir-estimated q_m, which may be associated with its structural balance and well-developed mesoporous network (0.210 cm³/g), facilitating the intraparticle transport of SLS molecules. These findings highlight that high efficiency originates from a synergistic combination of accessible porosity, a mesoporous transport network, hydrophobic character, and specific surface functional groups, demonstrating the exceptional potential of these activated carbons for anionic surfactant wastewater remediation.

Water purification by adsorption of various pollutants using carbon adsorbents with different characteristics has proven to be an effective method that is often used in purification technologies. In this work, a new method for obtaining a carbon adsorbent with a wide pore size and high surface area has been developed, particularly for the adsorption of bacterial cells. The characterization of the porous texture, the chemical nature of the surface, the structure, and the chemical composition of the obtained adsorbent is studied. The study demonstrates that the hierarchical macroporous structure of the macroporous carbon adsorbent (MCA) is highly effective for the physical sequestration of Escherichia coli from aqueous solutions. The high removal efficiency (86.4%) suggests that this material is a promising candidate for water purification and point-of-use filtration systems, where physical immobilization of pathogens is required.