Preparation of biomass carbon material based on Fomes fomentarius via alkali activation and its application for the removal of brilliant green in wastewater

Fomes fomentarius (L.) J. J. Kickx (FF), a fungal hyphae causing tree decay, has confused people for many years on how to deal with it economically and efficiently. In this study, fungal hyphae from FF was first time used as the carbon source to prepare biomass carbon material (BCFF) material via a simple method including carbonization at 600 °C and sodium hydroxide activation. Notably, BCFF-Na4-700-60 (with alkali-carbon ratio of 4:1 and heated at 700 °C for 60 min) showed a large specific surface area (3352 m 2 g −1 ) and a high pore volume (2.29 cm 3 g −1 ). Moreover, the synthetic dye brilliant green (BG) was selected as the dye model to investigate the adsorption performance and mechanism. The maximum adsorption capacity of BCFF-Na4-700-60 was 3166 mg g −1 at pH value of 9, which is superior to those of the great majority of adsorbents. After ten cycles, the adsorption capacity could still be maintained at about 53% of the original value. The results of these studies indicate that biomass carbon materials modified with forest pathogen have excellent adsorption capacity and cycling stability, which could be considered as a potential adsorbent for treatment of wastewater from dyeing industry. More importantly, this rapid and effective method can be further applied to other similar fungal hyphae. • A new carbon resource was used to prepare biomass carbon materials. • The maximum adsorption capacity to BG reached 3166 mg g -1 at pH value of 9. • Examined the adsorption kinetics, and the adsorption isotherms. • Analyzed the possible mechanism of action. • The adsorption capacities could still be maintained at about 53% after 10 cycles.