Innovative sustainable engineering assessment of sugarcane leaf-derived activated carbon for lead removal from textile wastewater

The textile industry generates wastewater containing harmful heavy metals, including lead (Pb), while Thailand's agricultural sector burns sugarcane leaves open-field, causing significant air pollution. Sugarcane leaves can be turned into activated carbon to clean wastewater and manage agricultural leftovers. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluates the environmental impact of sugarcane leaf-derived activated carbon (SLAC) produced using various chemical activators (H₃PO₄, ZnCl₂ and KOH) and pyrolysis temperatures (400 °C and 600 °C). The CML-IA baseline method is used in SimaPro to analyse laboratory-scale production data. The results revealed that activation chemistry and heat intensity greatly affect environmental impacts, with energy use and chemical production being engineering hotspots. ZnCl₂ activation at 400 °C had the lowest global warming potential, toxicity and resource depletion among the investigated processes. Raising the activation temperature to 600 °C raises the environmental load without improving sustainability. According to the sensitivity analysis, energy efficiency and product output are the most important design characteristics, while renewable electricity integration significantly minimises climate consequences. The findings provide quantitative engineering guidelines for low-impact activation methodologies and operating conditions, enabling the development of sustainable agricultural residue adsorbent materials for decentralised textile wastewater treatment systems.