Pine Needles\nin the Production of Sustainable Adsorbents:\nA Teaching Mini-Project Focused on the Valorization of Biomass

This manuscript addresses the development\nof a mini-project\nfor\nteaching adsorption based on the production of sustainable adsorbents\nfrom pine needles. The activity was tested during the Physical-Chemistry\nII discipline of the Agro-Industrial Engineering course and lasted\n5 weeks. The students were involved in the preparation of three adsorbents,\ntheir complete characterization using usual analytical techniques,\nthe interpretation of the results, and finally the adsorption test\nof methylene blue from an aqueous medium. Although the adsorbents\nwere prepared using extremely simple techniques seeking didactic applicability,\nthe good results obtained can be compared with those of more elaborate\nmaterials described in the current scientific literature. During the\nproposed activity, students improved their laboratory skills by learning\nabout new materials characterization techniques, revisiting basic\nequipment operations, and making use of mass ratios.