Characterization of activated carbons from Oil-palm-shell by CO2 activation with no holding carbonization temperature

• Main Authors: Herawan, Safarudin Gazali, Ayob, Md Razali, Putra, Azma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi 2013
• Subjects: TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery; TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/7486/1/624865.pdf; http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/7486/; http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2013/624865/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/624865

Activated carbons can be produced from different precursors, including coals of different ranks, and lignocellulosic materials, by physical or chemical activation processes. The objective of this paper is to characterize oil-palm shells, as a biomass by-product from palm-oil mills which were converted into activated carbons by nitrogen pyrolysis followed by CO 2 activation. The effects of no holding peak pyrolysis temperature on the physical characteristics of the activated carbons are studied. The BET surface area of the activated carbon is investigated using N 2 adsorption at 77 K with selected temperatures of 500, 600, and 700◦C. These pyrolysis conditions for preparing the activated carbons are found to yield higher BET surface area at a pyrolysis temperature of 700◦C compared to selected commercial activated carbon. The activated carbons thus result in well developed porosities and predominantly microporosities. By using this activation method, significant improvement can be obtained in the surface characteristics of the activated carbons. This thus study shows that the preparation time can be shorten while better results of activated carbon can be produced.