LAUSR

Abstract Edible fungus substrate (EFS) is a kind of agricultural waste produced by the cultivation of edible fungus. Improper handling of a large quantity of EFS may lead to environmental pollution. In this work, three porous carbon materials (PCEFS), derived from EFS, were prepared using simple techniques, including carbonization and chemical activation. Three types of alkalis were used as activators to investigate the different physicochemical properties of PCEFS (PCEFS-MA, PCEFS-K, and PCEFS-Na), which aims to clarify the influence of mixed alkali (MA) on the preparation method. The textural characterization of the PCEFS showed that the treatments produced some of changes, especially in the surface area and the structure of pores. Besides, synthetic dye Rhodamine B (RhB) was selected as the model dye to test the adsorption properties, including the effects of pH, the adsorption kinetics, and the adsorption isotherms. Moreover, the maximum adsorption capacities of 1497 mg g-1, 1103 mg g-1, and 1055 mg g-1 for PCEFS-MA, PCEFS-K, and PCEFS-Na at the pH value of 9 were observed, which were higher than some of the contemporary adsorbents. This study has given evidence that MA can serve as an efficient activator for preparing porous carbon material.