Synthesis of Nano-Porous Carbon from Cellulosic Waste and its Application in Water Disinfection

The present study deals with the preparation of new cellulosic catalyst materials, viz. paper and textile industry waste. Activated nano-carbons were prepared from these waste materials using thermo-chemical method. Nano-silver particles (AgNP) were embedded into the synthesized carbons to incorporate antimicrobial properties. The catalyst materials were characterized using FESEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR, etc. The characterization results showed that the materials were nanoporous and silver was uniformly distributed throughout the catalyst. The suitability of the catalyst as an antimicrobial agent was studied using pour plate technique. The main advantages of the disinfecting materials over conventional materials were: (i) only small quantities (mg) of catalysts are required to deactivate microorganism for up to 1 litre of water; (ii) time required for more than 99% disinfection is less (60 min); (iii) carbon has been synthesized from cellulosic wastes which otherwise would pollute the environment, hence it is a waste recycling process. The carbons exhibited more than 99% E. coli removal within 60 min.