*Article* **Activated Carbon from** *Stipa tenacissima* **for the Adsorption of Atenolol**

**Nesrine Madani <sup>1</sup> , Imane Moulefera 2,\* , Souad Boumad <sup>1</sup> , Diego Cazorla-Amorós 3 , Francisco José Varela Gandía 3 , Ouiza Cherifi <sup>4</sup> and Naima Bouchenafa-Saib <sup>1</sup>**


**Abstract:** The *Stipa tenacissima S*. is an endemic species of the Western Mediterranean countries, which grows on the semi-arid grounds of North Africa and South Spain. This biomass offers an abundant, renewable, and low-cost precursor for the production of activated carbon (AC). In that context, ACs were prepared by chemical activation of *Stipa tenacissima* leaves (STL) using phosphoric acid (H3PO<sup>4</sup> ). The effects of activation temperature and impregnation ratio on the textural and chemical surface properties of the prepared activated carbons were investigated. Activation temperatures of 450 and 500 ◦C turned out to be the most suitable to produce activated carbons with well-developed porous textures. The best results in terms of developed surface area (1503 m2/g) and micropore volume (0.59 cm3/g) were observed for an STLs to phosphoric acid ratio of 1:2 and a carbonization temperature of 450 ◦C. The adsorption capacity of the optimal activated carbon was found to be 110 mg/g for the atenolol drug. The adsorption equilibrium was well explained by the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm. This study showed that the chemical activation method using H3PO<sup>4</sup> as an activating agent was suitable for developing STL-based activated carbon prepared for the removal of atenolol drug in an aqueous solution and compared with commercial activated carbon supplied by Darco.

**Keywords:** activated carbon; *Stipa tenacissima*; chemical activation; adsorption; atenolol
