RESUMO
Adsorption is a promising technology for removing several contaminants from aqueous matrices. In the last years, researchers worldwide have been working on developing composite adsorbents to overcome some limitations and drawbacks of conventional adsorbent materials, which depend on various factors, including the characteristics of the adsorbents. Therefore, it is essential to characterize the composite adsorbents to describe their properties and structure and elucidate the mechanisms, behavior, and phenomenons during the adsorption process. In this sense, this work aimed to review the main methods used for composite adsorbent characterization, providing valuable information on the importance of these techniques in developing new adsorbents. In this paper, we reviewed the following methods: X-Ray diffraction (XRD); spectroscopy; scanning electron microscopy (SEM); N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms (BET and BJH methods); thermogravimetry (TGA); point of zero charge (pHPZC); elemental analysis; proximate analysis; swelling and water retention capacities; desorption and reuse.