Removal of aflatoxins in peanut oils by activated carbon functionalized with sodium dodecyl sulfonate

In this study, three kinds of novel modified activated carbon adsorbent were prepared by different concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfonate solution, and carried out by FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM, and N2-adsorption-desorption analytical techniques. The adsorption mechanism of aflatoxins on three types of modified activated carbon had been systematically investigated by isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies. The optimized adsorption conditions (amount, temperature, time) were determined by combining different types of aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2) removal efficiency in peanut oil. Notably, the modification of activated carbon using a 2-fold critical micelle concentration sodium dodecyl sulfonate solution not only remove 93.5% of AFB1 from peanut oils containing four aflatoxins (58.89 μg/kg), but also remain nearly unchanged in the phytosterol content in oils. In conclusion, the modified activated carbon with low cost and high efficiency showed a great potential for application in the adsorption of four aflatoxins from contaminated edible oils.