Production of palm kernel shell-based activated carbon by direct physical activation for carbon dioxide adsorption

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 26; no. 33; pp. 33732 - 33746
• Main Authors: Rashidi, Nor Adilla, Yusup, Suzana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activated carbon; Activation; Adsorption; Appropriate Technologies to Combat Water Pollution; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biomass; Carbon content; Carbon dioxide; Carbon Dioxide - chemistry; Charcoal - chemistry; Dependence; Dwell time; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Electron microscopes; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Flow rates; Flow velocity; Gas flow; Kernels; Model accuracy; Porosity; Response surface methodology; Room temperature; Scanning electron microscopy; Temperature; Thermal stability; Variance analysis; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Box-Behnken; Palm kernel shell; Activation; Biomass; Activated carbon; Carbon dioxide utilisation
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-1903-8

The feasibility of biomass-based activated carbons has received a huge attention due to their excellent characteristics such as inexpensiveness, good adsorption behaviour and potential to reduce a strong dependency towards non-renewable precursors. Therefore, in this research work, eco-friendly activated carbon from palm kernel shell that has been produced from one-stage physical activation by using the Box-Behnken design of Response Surface Methodology is highlighted. The effect of three input parameters—temperature, dwell time and gas flow rate—towards product yield and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) uptake at room temperature and atmospheric pressure are studied. Model accuracy has been evaluated through the ANOVA analysis and lack-of-fit test. Accordingly, the optimum condition in synthesising the activated carbon with adequate CO 2 adsorption capacity of 2.13 mmol/g and product yield of 25.15 wt% is found at a temperature of 850 °C, holding time of 60 min and CO 2 flow rate of 450 cm 3 /min. The synthesised activated carbon has been characterised by diverse analytical instruments including thermogravimetric analyser, scanning electron microscope, as well as N 2 adsorption-desorption isotherm. The characterisation analysis indicates that the synthesised activated carbon has higher textural characteristics and porosity, together with better thermal stability and carbon content as compared to pristine palm kernel shell. Activated carbon production via one-step activation approach is economical since its carbon yield is within the industrial target, whereas CO 2 uptake is comparable to the synthesised activated carbon from conventional dual-stage activation, commercial activated carbon and other published data from literature.