SHRIMP SHELL-BASED ACTIVATED CARBON: EFFECTIVE AND ROBUST ADSORBENT FOR REMOVAL OF IRON ION

Authors

  • Trung Quoc Tran Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology image/svg+xml , Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), 268 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • Thanh Kien Huynh International University image/svg+xml , Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • Tung Thanh Duong International University image/svg+xml , Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • Minh-Anh Huynh Le International University image/svg+xml , Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • Thanh Khoa Phung International University image/svg+xml , Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/aej.v16.25533

Keywords:

Activated carbon, Fe3+ ion, Freundlich isotherm, heavy metal, Langmuir isotherm

Abstract

Heavy metal pollution has posed a significant threat to environmental and human health. In this work, activated carbon synthesized from shrimp shells through KOH activation was employed as an adsorbent for Fe³⁺ ion removal from aqueous solutions. The material was characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and N₂ adsorption/desorption analysis. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to assess the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon, while the effects of initial ion concentration, contact time, pH, and adsorbent dosage were analyzed using Response Surface Methodology. The results showed that the adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics, indicating a chemisorption mechanism. While the Langmuir isotherm effectively described the adsorption behavior. The results also showed that a maximum removal efficiency of 72.31% was achieved at the optimal conditions (19.131 mg/L initial concentration, pH 6, and 130.394 minutes). The findings revealed that shrimp shell–derived activated carbon displayed strong adsorption efficiency for Fe³⁺ ions. This study contributes to the development of eco-friendly and cost-effective materials for heavy metal removal and underscores the significance of utilizing waste materials for value-added purposes in the field of environmental science and engineering.

References

[1] Kılıç, Z., 2020, "The importance of water and conscious use of water," International Journal of Hydrology, 4(5): 239-241.

[2] Wu, P., and M. Tan, 2012, "Challenges for sustainable urbanization: a case study of water shortage and water environment changes in Shandong, China," Procedia Environmental Sciences, 13: 919-927.

[3] Yap, C. N., and T. Hadibarata, 2022, "Remediation of contaminated soil with crude oil by composting," Journal of Civil Engineering, 13(1): 49-58.

[4] Chu, A. D., M. C. Pham, and M. K. Nguyen, 2010, "Characteristic of urban wastewater in Hanoi City–nutritive value and potential risk in using for agriculture," VNU Journal of Science: Earth and Environmental Sciences, 26(1): 42-47

[5] Rajurkar, N. S., A. N. Gokarn, and K. Dimya, 2011, "Adsorption of chromium (III), nickel (II), and copper (II) from aqueous solution by activated alumina," Clean–Soil, Air, Water, 39(8): 767-773.

[6] Adam, C., J. Baudin, and J. Garnier-Laplace, 2001, "Kinetics of 110mAg, 60Co, 137Cs and 54Mn bioaccumulation from water and depuration by the crustacean Daphnia magna," Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 125: 171-188.

[7] Tahir, M. S., M. Sagir, and M. B. Tahir, 2023, Advances in Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology, Springer Nature.

[8] Vertinsky, A., "Problems of the current state of physico-chemical methods of wastewater treatment," Proc. AIP Conference Proceedings, AIP Publishing LLC, p. 020003.

[9] Tansel, B., 2008, "New technologies for water and wastewater treatment: A survey of recent patents," Recent patents on chemical engineering, 1(1): 17-26.

[10] Balamoorthy, D., P. Velusamy, B. Rath, P. T R, and J. Kabeto, 2022, "Removal of heavey metals from astewater by using phytoremediation technology," Journal of Civil Engineering, Science and Technology, 13(1): 23-32.

[11] Littman, H., J. L. Plawsky, and J. D. Paccione, 2014, "Waste Water Treatment Apparatus and Methods."

[12] Mao, G., Y. Han, X. Liu, J. Crittenden, N. Huang, and U. M. Ahmad, 2022, "Technology status and trends of industrial wastewater treatment: A patent analysis," Chemosphere, 288: 132483.

[13] Sharma, Y. C., V. Srivastava, V. Singh, S. Kaul, and C. Weng, 2009, "Nano‐adsorbents for the removal of metallic pollutants from water and wastewater," Environmental technology, 30(6): 583-609.

[14] Shavandi, M., Z. Haddadian, M. H. S. Ismail, N. Abdullah, and Z. Abidin, 2012, "Removal of Fe (III), Mn (II) and Zn (II) from palm oil mill effluent (POME) by natural zeolite," Journal of the Taiwan institute of chemical engineers, 43(5): 750-759.

[15] Zhu, Y., Y. Niu, H. Li, B. Ren, R. Qu, H. Chen, and Y. Zhang, 2018, "Removal of Cd (II) and Fe (III) from DMSO by silica gel supported PAMAM dendrimers: Equilibrium, thermodynamics, kinetics and mechanism," Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 162: 253-260.

[16] Peng, Y., H. Huang, Y. Zhang, C. Kang, S. Chen, L. Song, D. Liu, and C. Zhong, 2018, "A versatile MOF-based trap for heavy metal ion capture and dispersion," Nature communications, 9(1): 187.

[17] Gao, Y., L. Pan, H. Li, Y. Zhang, Z. Zhang, Y. Chen, and Z. Sun, 2009, "Electrosorption behavior of cations with carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibres composite film electrodes," Thin Solid Films, 517(5): 1616-1619.

[18] Mistar, E., S. Ahmad, A. Muslim, T. Alfatah, and M. Supardan, "Preparation and characterization of a high surface area of activated carbon from Bambusa vulgaris—Effect of NaOH activation and pyrolysis temperature," Proc. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 012051. IOP Publishing

[19] Kavand, M., P. Eslami, and L. Razeh, 2020, "The adsorption of cadmium and lead ions from the synthesis wastewater with the activated carbon: Optimization of the single and binary systems," Journal of Water Process Engineering, 34: 101151.

[20] Mohamad Said, K. A., M. A. Mohamed Amin, I. Yakub, M. R. Rahman, A. B. Hong Kueh, S. Hamdan, and M. M. Rahman, 2023, "Methylene Blue Adsorption Mechanism onto Palm Kernel Shell-derived Activated Carbon: From Particle Diffusion to Site Adsorption," BioResources, 18(3): 5120-5132

[21] Yakub, I., K. A. M. Said, M. A. M. Amin, A. B. H. Kueh, and M. Amran, 2024, "Aqueous-phase Reforming of Glycerol using Cu-Ni Bimetal Catalyst Supported over Coconut Shell Activated Carbon," Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences, 115(1): 193-205.

[22] Tsai, W., C. Chang, S. Wang, C. Chang, S. Chien, and H. Sun, 2001, "Preparation of activated carbons from corn cob catalyzed by potassium salts and subsequent gasification with CO2," Bioresource technology, 78(2): 203-208.

[23] Hanzawa, Y., K. Kaneko, R. Pekala, and M. Dresselhaus, 1996, "Activated carbon aerogels," Langmuir, 12(26): 6167-6169.

[24] Dwiyaniti, M., A. E. Barruna, R. M. Naufal, I. Subiyanto, R. Setiabudy, and C. Hudaya, "Extremely high surface area of activated carbon originated from sugarcane bagasse," Proceeding IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 012018. IOP Publishing.

[25] Pereira, L., V. Castillo, M. Calero, G. Blázquez, R. R. Solís, and M. Ángeles Martín-Lara, 2024, "Conversion of char from pyrolysis of plastic wastes into alternative activated carbons for heavy metal removal," Environmental Research, 250: 118558.

[26] Mkilima, T., Y. Zharkenov, A. Abduova, N. Sarypbekova, N. Kudaibergenov, K. Sakanov, G. Zhukenova, Z. Omarov, P. Sultanbekova, and G. Kenzhaliyeva, 2024, "Utilization of banana peel-derived activated carbon for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater," Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 10: 100791.

[27] Saikia, S., V. Anagha, M. Khwairakpam, and A. S. Kalamdhad, 2024, "Assessment of activated carbon derived from municipal solid waste char as a precursor for mitigation of heavy metals," Biomass and Bioenergy, 190: 107385.

[28] Tounsadi, H., M. Khnifira, A. Khalidi, M. Abdennouri, and N. Barka, 2025, "Effective removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions using activated biomass: Analytical interpretation via molecular dynamic simulation, mathematical and statistical approaches," Journal of Molecular Structure, 1319: 139371.

[29] VASEP, 2025, "Infographic: Vietnam shrimp exports in 2024," https://vasep.com.vn/san-pham-xuat-khau/infographic/infographic-xuat-khau-tom-viet-nam-nam-2024-32619.html. Retrieved on September 2, 2025

[30] Yu, J., L. Tang, Y. Pang, G. Zeng, H. Feng, J. Zou, J. Wang, C. Feng, X. Zhu, X. Ouyang, and J. Tan, 2020, "Hierarchical porous biochar from shrimp shell for persulfate activation: A two-electron transfer path and key impact factors," Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 260: 118160.

[31] Guo, J., Y. Song, X. Ji, L. Ji, L. Cai, Y. Wang, H. Zhang, and W. Song, 2019, "Preparation and characterization of nanoporous activated carbon derived from prawn shell and its application for removal of heavy metal ions," Materials, 12(2): 241.

[32] Pham, X.-T., V. A. Tran, L.-T. T. Tran, T. N. P. Nguyen, T. H. Le, H. Hoang, T.-H. Nguyen, K. B. Vu, and T. K. Phung, 2022, "Hierarchical Porous Activated Carbon-Supported Ruthenium Catalysts for Catalytic Cleavage of Lignin Model Compounds," Energies, 15(22): 8611.

[33] Diningsih, C., and L. Rohmawati, 2022, "Synthesis of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from eggshell by calcination method," Indonesian Physical Review, 5(3): 208-215.

[34] Zhang, Y., and F. Liu, 2015, "End to end assembly of CaO and ZnO nanosheets to propeller-shaped architectures by orientation attachment approaches," Journal of Crystal Growth, 420: 94-100.

[35] Xiao, Y., C. Long, M.-T. Zheng, H.-W. Dong, B.-F. Lei, H.-R. Zhang, and Y.-L. Liu, 2014, "High-capacity porous carbons prepared by KOH activation of activated carbon for supercapacitors," Chinese Chemical Letters, 25(6): 865-868.

[36] Muniandy, L., F. Adam, A. R. Mohamed, and E.-P. Ng, 2014, "The synthesis and characterization of high purity mixed microporous/mesoporous activated carbon from rice husk using chemical activation with NaOH and KOH," Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 197: 316-323.

[37] Aryal, M., and M. Liakopoulou-Kyriakides, 2013, "Binding mechanism and biosorption characteristics of Fe (III) by Pseudomonas sp. cells," Journal of Water sustainability, 3(3): 117-131.

[38] Dideriksen, K., J. Baker, and S. Stipp, 2006, "Iron isotopes in natural carbonate minerals determined by MC-ICP-MS with a 58Fe–54Fe double spike," Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70(1): 118-132.

[39] Rudzinski, W., and W. Plazinski, 2006, "Kinetics of solute adsorption at solid/solution interfaces: a theoretical development of the empirical pseudo-first and pseudo-second order kinetic rate equations, based on applying the statistical rate theory of interfacial transport," The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 110(33): 6514-16525.

[40] Sahoo, T. R., and B. Prelot, 2020, "Adsorption processes for the removal of contaminants from wastewater: the perspective role of nanomaterials and nanotechnology," Nanomaterials for the detection and removal of wastewater pollutants, Elsevier, 161-222.

[41] Lesoin, L., C. Crampon, O. Boutin, And E. Badens, 2011, “CO2/water/surfactant ternary systems and liposome formation using supercritical CO2: A review,” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 377(1–3): 1-14.

[42] Liu, Y., 2006, "Some consideration on the Langmuir isotherm equation," Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 274(1-3): 34-36.

[43] Okoniewska, E., J. Lach, M. Kacprzak, and E. Neczaj, 2007, "The removal of manganese, iron and ammonium nitrogen on impregnated activated carbon," Desalination, 206(1-3): 251-258.

[44] Ng, C., J. N. Losso, W. E. Marshall, and R. M. Rao, 2002, "Freundlich adsorption isotherms of agricultural by-product-based powdered activated carbons in a geosmin–water system," Bioresource technology, 85(2): 131-135.

[45] Kiran, B., and K. Thanasekaran, 2011, "Copper biosorption on Lyngbya putealis: application of response surface methodology (RSM)," International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 65(6): 840-845.

[46] Yetilmezsoy, K., S. Demirel, and R. J. Vanderbei, 2009, "Response surface modeling of Pb (II) removal from aqueous solution by Pistacia vera L.: Box–Behnken experimental design," Journal of hazardous materials, 171(1-3): 551-562.

[47] Vasu, A. E., 2008, "Adsorption of Ni (II), Cu (II) and Fe (III) from aqueous solutions using activated carbon," Journal of Chemistry, 5: 1-9.

[48] Esfandiar, N., B. Nasernejad, and T. Ebadi, 2014, "Removal of Mn (II) from groundwater by sugarcane bagasse and activated carbon (a comparative study): Application of response surface methodology (RSM)," Journal of industrial and engineering chemistry, 20(5): 3726-3736.

[49] Yanti, I., P. P. Sationo, W. F. Winata, M. Anugrahwati, A. K. Anas, and Y. A. Swasono, 2023, "Effectiveness of activated carbon magnetic composite from banana peel (Musa acuminata) for recovering iron metal ions," Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 8: 100378.

[50] Braz, G. S., J. d. C. L. Carvalho, J. G. de Andrade, A. T. D. Junior, R. P. de Lima, E. N. Lima, O. E. Ferreira, M. A. de Oliveira, A. C. d. S. Bezerra, and A. R. T. Machado, 2025, "Adsorption of ferrous ions onto phosphoric acid-activated biochar," Desalination and Water Treatment, 321: 100958.

[51] Thinojah, T., and B. Ketheesan, 2022, "Iron removal from groundwater using granular activated carbon filters by oxidation coupled with the adsorption process," Journal of Water and Climate Change, 13(5): 1985-1994.

[52] Brishti, R. S., R. Kundu, M. A. Habib, and M. H. Ara, 2023, "Adsorption of iron(III) from aqueous solution onto activated carbon of a natural source: Bombax ceiba fruit shell," Results in Chemistry, 5: 100727.

[53] El-Bendary, N., H. k. El-Etriby, and H. Mahanna, 2021, "High-performance removal of iron from aqueous solution using modified activated carbon prepared from corn cobs and luffa sponge," Desalination and Water Treatment, 213: 348-357.

[54] Porpino, K. K. P., M. d. C. S. Barreto, K. B. Cambuim, J. R. d. Carvalho Filho, I. A. S. Toscano, and M. d. A. Lima, 2011, "Fe (II) adsorption on Ucides cordatus crab shells," Química Nova, 34: 928-932.

[55] Costea, I. F., A.-M. Ceoromila, A. Tabacaru, and G. Carac, 2024, "Investigation of Chitosan Flakes in the Adsorption of Fe (III) Ions from Acidic Solution," Revista de Chimie, 75(2): 1-10.

Downloads

Published

2026-08-31

Issue

Section

Articles