Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon from the Pyrolysis of Physic Nut (Jatropha curcas L.) Waste

Abstract

Use of waste as raw material for producing porous carbon was investigated in this work. Physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) residue from oil extraction for biodiesel production was pyrolyzed at 400-800 °C with hold times of 15, 120, and 240 min to obtain char precursors. Activated carbon, with favorable Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area in a narrow range, was prepared by soaking these chars in concentrated KOH, H 3 PO 4 , as well as a pure CO 2 gas flash activator. The maximum specific surface area of 532.30 m 2 g -1 was developed for the alkaline-treated sample. The carbon fraction of activated materials was as much as 90 wt %, significantly higher than the char precursor. Mesopore of 2-50 nm and total pore volumes of the materials were also significantly enhanced by these activations. Nitrogen adsorption isotherms of physic-nut-waste-activated carbons indicated that they were mainly mesopores. Pores of char activated by KOH and H 3 PO 4 are irregular, of different shapes and sizes, and the macropores seemed to be connected to mesopores, especially for the KOHactivated case. Surface analysis of pyrolyzed and activated char using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated main functional groups that are considerably different to those of activated materials, which may lead to greater adsorption potential of activated samples. However, functional groups on each activated carbon are quite similar even with different activation processes. According to the data obtained, physic nut residue pyrolyzed at 800 °C and followed by KOH activation could be used as a low-cost adsorbent with favorable surface properties.

High rate performance activated carbons prepared from ginkgo shells for electrochemical supercapacitors

“…Results and discussion temperature range and lasts to higher temperatures [22][23][24]. The global yields of GAC and GGAC are about 24 and 17 wt.% respectively in our experiment.…”

Application of biowaste (waste generated in biodiesel plant) as an adsorbent for the removal of hazardous bye - methylene blue - from aqueous phase

“…The zero point charge (pH pzc ) was determined by using a Zetasizer (Malvern, Nano -ZS). Proximate analysis of SW was carried out by using a thermogravimetrc analyzer (TGA) (Shimadzu, DTG-60H) (Sricharoenchaikul et al, 2008). The experimental conditions for TGA were -initial temperature: 35 o C; final temperature: 700 o C; heating rate: 10 o C min -1 and nitrogen flow: 35 ml/min.…”

Evaluation of the Influence of Salt Treatment on the Structure of Pyrolyzed Periwinkle Shell

“…Major advantages of the chemical activation compared to the physical activation are lower treatment temperatures and shorter treatment times. In addition, activated carbon obtained by chemical activation exhibits a larger surface area and better developed mesoporosity than physical activation (Sricharoenchaikul, 2007, Jabit, 2007.…”

“…A number of reports abound on the preparation of activated carbon using various agricultural wastes (Martinez et al, 2007, Wang et al, 2010, low-cost biomass materials such as shea nut shell (Itodo and Itodo, 2011), Parthenium biomass (Rajeshwari et al, 2010), rice husk (Wuana et al, 2007, Nasehir et al, 2010, Aloko and Adebayo, 2007Goodhead and Dagde, 2011, coconut shell (Wei et al, 2006, Ash et al, 2006, Gimba and Muyiwa, 2008, Rahman et al, 2006, bituminous coal (Cuhadaroglu and Uygun, 2008), wood (Abdullah et al, 2001, Lysenko, 2007, Goodhead and Dagde, 2011, sugarcane bagasse (Qureshi et al, 2007), animal horns (Aluyor and Badmus, 2008), oil palm shells (Lua and Guo, 2001, Tan et al, 2008, Hameed et al, 2009, physic nut waste (Sricharoenchaikul et al, 2007) and periwinkle shells (Badmus et al, 2007) to name a few has been widely studied.…”