Activated Carbon from the Renewable Agricultural Residues Using Single Step Physical Activation: A Preliminary Analysis

The feasibility of preparing activated carbon from single step carbon dioxide activation was studied. The optimization of the activated carbons were carried out to study the effects of precursors (coconut fiber, rice husk, coconut shell, palm kernel shell and palm mesocarp fiber), particle size (250-1000 μm), CO2 flow rate (100-300 cm3/min), heating rate (5-25̊C/min), reaction temperature (500-900̊C) and residence time (15-90 mins) on the physical properties of the activated carbon. For the process parameter optimization, L25 orthogonal array and “the-larger-the-better” response were employed to determine the optimum yield of the produced activated carbon. In addition, the proximate analysis, chemical compositions and the surface morphology of the raw materials and activated carbons were also discussed. The utilization of the agricultural residues as the activated carbon may help abating the environmental problems caused by irresponsible disposal of agro-wastes.