A review of agricultural waste activated carbon and effect on adsorption parameters

Activated carbon is widely used in industrial wastewater treatment operation because of the effectiveness in removing the dye. As the conventional activated carbon on market nowadays is expensive, lots of research was done on agricultural materials to replace the activated carbon. Sugarcane bagasse is listed as one of the agricultural material alternatives. This review compiles the characterisation of sugarcane bagasse and several agricultural wastes-based activated carbon including proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, and activated carbon surface characteristic used to remove dye in textile wastewater. Nevertheless, the adsorption parameters are the main focus as it affecting the removal of dye. The expansion review regarding activated carbon performance implies that dye removal efficiency depends on the amount of adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH solution, dye concentration applied during the adsorption process. This review shows the need of thoughtful information on adsorption parameters with an expanded list of various types of agricultural-based activated carbon and various dye removal

Modification of Rice Husk-Based Activated Carbon using Sodium Lauryl Sulfat (SLS) for Lead (Pb) Ions Removal

A rice husk-based active carbon modified using SLS surfactant showed an increase on Pb ionic metal removal with the efficiency of 99.96%. Activated carbon is commonly applied as adsorben in waste water treatment, in particularly, waste water containing heavy metals and dye molecules. Even though it is commonly used, the adsorption efficiency of activated carbon to the heavy metal waste is still low. Therefore, in the present work, carbon from rice husk was modified using surfactant which further it is called surfactant modified active carbon (SMAC). Firstly, rice husk-based carbon was activated using 40% H3PO4 for 2, 6, 10, 14, 15 and 16 hours. The activated carbon was then modified by contacting it into SLS in different concentration 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 ppm for 5 hours. Finally, the SMAC was then applied to remove Pb ionic metal. Moreover, several characterisation techniques were performed including FTIR, SEM, UV-Vis and AAS. Keywords: activated carbon, surfactant-modified active carbon, adsorption, rice hus

Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from palm kernel shell

In Malaysia, the production of activated carbons is still coconut-based although Malaysia has long shifted from coconut into palm oil plantation. Huge amount of waste Palm Kernel Shells (PKS) are being generated and disposed off into the landfill with little known of their usage on large scale. In this study, the potential of production of activated carbon from raw palm kernel shells are studied. Activated carbon was prepared from raw palm kernel shells using chemical activation with potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an activating agent. The effects of different process parameters: KOH concentration, activation temperature and time on physicochemical properties of the prepared activated carbon were investigated. The activated carbon was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, proximate analysis and methylene blue adsorption study. FTIR analysis indicates that raw palm kernel shell has successfully been converted into activated carbon. SEM photograph revealed that prepared activated carbons have numerous burn-off pores with extensive surface area for adsorption. Activated carbon sample prepared at 700 ºC and 1 hour activation with 30 wt % KOH impregnation showed greatest extend of methylene blue removal of 6.932 mg/g equivalent to 69.324 %RE with largest specific surface area of 21.137 x 10-3 km2kg-1 have been reported. This study shows that palm kernel shells can be used as a good source for the production of activated carbon

Evaluation of Activated Carbon as a Reactive Cap Sorbent for Sequestration of PCBs in Presence of Humic Acid

This study investigated the interferences caused by high humic acid concentrations on the adsorption of coplanar and noncoplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on coconut shell activated carbon. In particular, the research focuses on the application of activated carbon as a reactive cap for contaminated sediment sites, a possible intervention to reduce contaminant flux through pore water, and to organisms in aquatic environments. Kinetic and equilibrium studies were conducted using activated carbon as a sorbent for individual PCB congeners including BZ 1, 52, 77, 153, and 169, respectively, in the presence and absence of humic acid. Results showed that preloading of activated carbon with humic acid significantly reduced the adsorption affinity for all selected PCB congeners. Experiments conducted without preloading of activated carbon demonstrated that desorption upon subsequent spiking with humic acid (simulating long-term exposure to pore water that contains high humic acid concentrations) was not found to be statistically significant, and varied with coplanarity of PCBs. Results provide important information for the design of reactive caps in sediments where high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon are found, and highlight the importance of considering site conditions when designing effective reactive caps

Imaging the atomic structure of activated carbon

The precise atomic structure of activated carbon is unknown, despite its huge commercial importance in the purification of air and water. Diffraction methods have been extensively applied to the study of microporous carbons, but cannot provide an unequivocal identification of their structure. Here we show that the structure of a commercial activated carbon can be imaged directly using aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Images are presented both of the as-produced carbon and of the carbon following heat treatment at 2000 degrees C. In the 2000 degrees C carbon clear evidence is found for the presence of pentagonal rings, suggesting that the carbons have a fullerene-related structure. Such a structure would help to explain the properties of activated carbon, and would also have important implications for the modelling of adsorption on microporous carbons

Integrated process for production of surfactin Part 1: Adsorption rate of pure surfactin onto activated carbon

The work reported in this paper is aimed at studying the adsorption of surfactin from aqueous solution onto activated carbon. Among the factors,agitation rate, activated carbon particle-size, pH, temperature, initial adsorbate concentration, adsorbent amount and ionic strength of the solution were studied. Both adsorption equilibrium and kinetics showed that activated carbon acted as a suitable adsorbent for surfactin recovery. Two mechanisms represented by different kinetic models were examined, namely, the intraparticle diffusion one and the one involving chemisorption accompanied by surface coverage (conforming to the Elovich concept)

High temperature treatments of porous activated carbon

The use of biomass waste for the preparation of activated carbon is of great industrial interest for reducing costs and increasing the sustainability, especially in the field of energy storage. A high temperature treatment is required to obtain a more ordered carbon material, thus increasing its conductivity. However, this high temperature treatment entails as a disadvantage a significant reduction in porosity. Therefore, a method to prepare activated carbons with a high porosity development as well as high conductivity could be of great interest for many applications. The aim of this work is to analyze the possible influence of phosphorus compounds on the physical-chemical properties of different carbon materials thermally treated at relatively high temperatures (1600 ºC). With this goal, it has been prepared activated carbons from different precursors (olive stone, lignin and hemp) and different conformations (powder, fibers and monoliths) by physical and chemical activation, with CO2 and H3PO4, respectively. Once the different activated carbon materials were prepared, they were thermally treated at 1600 ºC under inert atmosphere. The different samples were characterized by N2 and CO2 adsorption at 77 and 273 K, respectively, XPS, XRD and Raman techniques. The oxidation resistance was also evaluated in a thermogravimetric balance. High temperature treatments of activated carbon without the presence of P surface groups produced an important contraction of the porosity (from 900 to 150 m2 g-1). However, temperature treatments of phosphorus-activated carbon allowed for preparing carbon materials with a relatively high structural order and a well-developed porosity (c.a. 1100 m2 g-1), with a significant contribution of mesoporosity. These results suggest that these P-surface groups are responsible for the low contraction observed for the porous structure, avoiding, in a large extent, its collapse.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. MINECO (CTQ2015-68654-R). MINECO (PTA2015-11464-I)

Modification of Rice Husk-Based Activated Carbon using Sodium Lauryl Sulfat (SLS) for Lead (Pb) Ions Removal

A rice husk-based active carbon modified using SLS surfactant showed an increase on Pb ionic metal removal with the efficiency of 99.96%. Activated carbon is commonly applied as adsorben in waste water treatment, in particularly, waste water containing heavy metals and dye molecules. Even though it is commonly used, the adsorption efficiency of activated carbon to the heavy metal waste is still low. Therefore, in the present work, carbon from rice husk was modified using surfactant which further it is called surfactant modified active carbon (SMAC). Firstly, rice husk-based carbon was activated using 40% H3PO4 for 2, 6, 10, 14, 15 and 16 hours. The activated carbon was then modified by contacting it into SLS in different concentration 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 ppm for 5 hours. Finally, the SMAC was then applied to remove Pb ionic metal. Moreover, several characterisation techniques were performed including FTIR, SEM, UV-Vis and AAS

Options for processing of aspen wood to carbon materials

Thermochemical processing of aspen wood to produce carbon materials is of interest considering that it allows increasing the cost of its products several times and enhancing the sustainability of forest complex enterprises.Currently, the enterprises are confined to the manufacture of charcoal, although it is possible to produce other carbon materials, such as charcoal briquettes, activated carbon and oxidized coal.While processing aspen wood, it is feasible to arrange manufacturing charcoal briquettes. Increased mechanical strength and high bulk density of briquettes raises the range of economically viable transportation of manufactured products, i.e. logistics is being improved.To obtain stable quality activated carbon from aspen coal, water vapor activation is the least environmentally hazardous. For such activation implementation, we recommend using a rotary kiln equipped with a Z-shaped insert. For reasons of environmental safety, the oxidation of activated carbon is preferably carried out using hot, humid air. In this case, unlike liquid-phase oxidation, no wastewater is formed. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved

Flexible and low-cost binderless capacitors based on p- and n-containing fibrous activated carbons from denim cloth wastes

Activated carbon cloths have been prepared from denim cloth wastes (DCWs) through chemical activation with H3PO4. The effect of the H3PO4/DCWs impregnation ratio and the carbonization temperature on the porous texture, the chemical composition, the fibers morphology, and the electrochemical performance has been studied. Low H3PO4/DCWs impregnation ratios lead to flexible and microporous activated carbons cloths, whereas more fragile and rigid activated carbon cloths with higher external surface area are produced upon increasing the amount of H3PO4. The increase in the carbonization temperature allows for obtaining a more ordered and conductive carbon structure. The activated carbon prepared at 900 ºC with a H3PO4/DCWs impregnation ratio of 0.5 (w/w) exhibits the best performance as electric double layer capacitor. This electrode shows a specific surface area of 2016 m2 g-1 and the highest registered gravimetric capacitance (227 F g-1). Moreover, its flexibility minimizes the ohmic resistance of the electrode, thus increasing the feasibility of working at higher current densities than the other synthesized electrodes.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech; MINECO CTQ2015-68654-