In recent years, the removal of dyes has emerged as a significant problem that attracted several researchers. The search for green and eco-friendly adsorbents has been a never-ending task in environmental protection to overcome this issue. Herein, almond shells (AS) were used as an adsorbent to remove methyl orange (MO) from aqueous solutions. The AS was characterized using several techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Adsorption experiments were carried out under different pH, temperature, and AS particle size conditions. Kinetic and isothermal studies revealed that MO adsorption on the AS reached equilibrium at 90 min, following the pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic model. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was found the suitable adsorption model for MO adsorption on AS, showing a maximum adsorption capacity of 15.63 mg/g. Thermodynamic parameters such as the change in standard enthalpy (ΔH°), the change in standard entropy (ΔS°), and the change in standard free energy (ΔG°) indicated that the MO dye adsorption process is non-spontaneous, endothermic, and physical, which was further confirmed from FTIR analysis of AS samples after adsorption. The contaminated sludge was converted into biochar by slow pyrolysis at a temperature of 400 °C for 2 h. Biochar has been exploited for the manufacture of combustible briquettes.

In the context of the circular economy, used coffee grounds were transformed into powdered activated carbon by chemical activation using potassium hydroxide. Its characterisation was conducted in comparison with that of a commercial activated carbon by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Boehm titration, and point zero charge (pH_PZC) and by determination of the methylene blue number (MBN) and the iodine number (IN). Performance of the prepared activated carbon was tested in the adsorption of the cationic dye crystal violet (CV) and hexavalent chromium. Batch adsorption tests were carried out and the effects of operating parameters were studied. The results collected on the adsorption kinetics show that the adsorption followed pseudo-second order kinetics and that the Langmuir isotherm best fits the equilibrium data for crystal violet and hexavalent chromium. The thermodynamic study showed that the adsorption of both adsorbates is spontaneous and exothermic and leads to a decrease in disorder at the solid–liquid interfaces. These results indicate that this activated carbon can be used as an alternative adsorbent to remove cationic dyes and heavy metals from aqueous solutions.

Phenol is one of the most toxic pollutants found in industrial waste. This work focuses on the removal of phenol using clay from the Sale region. Adsorbent was characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The chemical analysis of this clay shows that the percentage of silicon and aluminium is quite high, and the percentage of calcium and iron is relatively high, so this material is rich in muscovite, quartz, and calcite. In addition to the presence of titanium dioxide (TiO₂), which can give it a property of degradation of organic compounds under ultraviolet light, the pH_PZC zero point of our material is 7.4. The results showed that the adsorption of phenol was well fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and that the best retention is obtained at a pH between 3 and 8.

This work explored the adsorption of Malachite Green (MG) dye by Acorn Pericarp (AP) in the context of biomass valorization. The Acorn Pericarp was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction. The adsorption capacity under optimal experimental conditions was studied at different adsorbent doses, the initial concentration times of the dye and pH. The results presented in this work on the adsorption kinetics of MG showed that the pseudo-first-order model (R² = 0.9971) better described the adsorption kinetics at 10⁻⁵ M. The experimental isotherms showed that Acorn Pericarp adsorption followed the Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.9889). The thermodynamic study showed that MG adsorption is endothermic (ΔH° > 0) and spontaneous (ΔG° < 0). For a sustainable industry, the sludge was converted into reinforcement of polystyrene using in-situ polymerization with 10% by weight of filler. A morphological and structural analysis was performed using SEM and FTIR, the results of characterization showed that the AP sludge was incorporated well into the PS matrix.