A comparative study of the pore characteristics and phenol adsorption performance of activated carbons prepared from oil-palm shell wastes by steam and combined steam-chemical activation

Oil-palm shell wastes were successfully converted into useful activated carbons in a systematic and novel approach by optimizing the pyrolysis conditions and subsequent steam activation conditions to maximize the BET surface area.The optimal activation conditions were a steam flow rate of 1.13 kg/h,hold time of 1.5 h and temperature of 950℃,yielding BET areas of 1432.94 and 1382.95 m^(2)/g for nitrogen-pyrolyzed and vacuumpyrolyzed chars,respectively.In steam-chemical activation,one-step activation of oil-palm shell in steam with potassium carbonate(K_(2)CO_(3)),sodium carbonate(Na_(2)CO_(3))or potassium chloride(KCl)was conducted,resulting in BET area output order of shell/K_(2)CO_(3)(710.56 m^(2)/g)>shell/KCl(498.55 m^(2)/g)>shell(366.7 m^(2)/g)>shell/Na_(2)CO_(3)(326.62 m^(2)/g).This study reported the first use of KCl and Na_(2)CO_(3)as chemical reagents in one-step steam-chemical activation of biomass.KCl-activated carbon exhibited retardation of tar formation property,resulting in better pore development than pure steam activated carbon.Phenol adsorption of activated carbon is not only a function of the BET surface area but also the type of pyrolysis used prior to physical activation.Activated carbon(BET area of 1192.29 m^(2)/g)pyrolyzed under vacuum could adsorb 87%more phenol than that pyrolyzed in nitrogen flow which had a higher BET area of 1432.94 m^(2)/g.Phenol adsorption capacities of activated carbons are:shell pyrolyzed under vacuum(275.5 mg/g)>shell pyrolyzed in N_(2)flow(147.1 mg/g)>shell/K_(2)CO_(3)(145.7 mg/g)>shell without pyrolysis(12.1 mg/g).These activated carbons would be highly suitable in industry processes to remove phenolic contaminants.

Adsorption of phenol from aqueous solution by a hierarchical micro-nano porous carbon material

A hierarchical micro-nano porous carbon material (MNC) was prepared using expanded graphite (EG), sucrose, and phosphoric acid as raw materials, followed by sucrose-phosphoric acid solution impregnation, solidification, carbonization and activation. Nitrogen adsorption and mercury porosimetry show that mixed nanopores and micropores coexist in MNC with a high specific surface area of 1978 m2·g-1 and a total pore volume of 0.99 cm3·g-1. In addition, the MNC is found to consist of EG and activated carbon with the latter deposited on the interior and the exterior surfaces of the EG pores. The thickness of the activated carbon layer is calculated to be about one hundred nanometers and is further confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission election microscope (TEM). A maximum static phenol adsorption of 241.2 mg·g-1 was obtained by using MNC, slightly higher than that of 220.4 mg·g-1 by using commercial activated carbon (CAC). The phenol adsorption kinetics were investigated and the data fitted well to a pseudo-second-order model. Also, an intra-particle diffusion mechanism was proposed. Furthermore, it is found that the dynamic adsorption capacity of MNC is nearly three times that of CAC. The results suggest that the MNC is a more efficient adsorbent than CAC for the removal of phenol from aqueous solution.