Coconut power: a sustainable approach for the removal of Cr ions using a new coconut-based polyurethane foam/activated carbon composite in a fixed-bed column.

To attain efficient removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr) from aqueous solutions, a novel polyurethane foam-activated carbon (PUAC) adsorbent composite was developed. The composite material was synthesized by the binding of coconut shell-based activated carbon (AC) onto a coconut oil-based polyurethane matrix. To thoroughly characterize the physicochemical properties of the newly developed material, various analytical techniques including FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, XRD, BET, and TGA analyses were conducted.