Adsorption characteristics of heavy metals ions by physical activation on coal tar pitch-based activated carbon fibers

Adsorption characteristics of heavy metals ions by physical activation on coal tar pitch-based activated carbon fibers

Due to the increasing population growth of modern society, along with rapid industrial development and urbanization, environmental pollution continues to worsen and has become an important issue, not only domestically but also worldwide. In particular, toxic substances such as heavy metal ions are present in the wastewater produced by various industries. This wastewater flows into rivers, pollutes water supplies, and can contaminate the drinking water supplied to people [1-3]. Powder or activated carbons are being widely used today to mitigate polluted water from industrial sources and contaminated supplies. To make up for the limitations of such materials, there has been strong interest in the use of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) as adsorbents, because they offer excellent adsorption performance and processability [4-6].