Facile synthesis and in situ magnetization of carbon‐decorated lignocellulose fiber for highly efficient removal of methylene blue

BACKGROUND Magnetic adsorption is currently a popular way to remove chemical pollutants from water. The present work reported highly efficient removal of methylene blue ( MB ) by magnetically retrievable carbon‐decorated lignocellulose fiber ( mC @ LCF ). RESULTS Carbon‐decorated lignocellulose fiber (C@ LCF ) was successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal carbonization process using a low‐cost and environment‐friendly lignocellulose fiber ( LCF ) as raw material. Further, the C@ LCF was in situ magnetized by simply adding it and magnetic nanoparticle ( MNP ) into methylene blue ( MB ) solution taking advantage of the spontaneous behavior of MNP adherence to the surface of C@ LCF . During this period, MB was efficiently removed, and the maximum removal capacity was 232.3 mg g −1 at 303.15 K. Kinetic and thermodynamic investigations as well as isotherm analysis were also undertaken. Reusability of mC @ LCF was evaluated, and results showed that removal of MB exceeded 90% after seven consecutive cycles. CONCLUSIONS The mC @ LCF has obvious advantages including ease of production, low production costs, environmental friendliness, magnetic retrievability, and high efficiency for MB adsorption. Thus mC @ LCF is a promising adsorbent for the purification of dye‐containing wastewater. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry