Indonesia is the world’s second largest producer of coconut. This at the same time resulted in huge generation of coconut shell waste that need to be properly managed to prevent environmental contamination such as water, air and soil pollution. Current techniques of physical and thermal processing are time and energy consuming. This study reports on the conversion of coconut shell biomass into biochar using microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP). The MAP processes were carried out at different microwave power (550-650W) and   residence time (15-25 minutes). Two of the highest biochar yields were obtained at 550W with the residence times of 15 minutes (91.31 wt%, termed as S1) and 20 minutes (83.88 wt%, termed as S2), respectively. Both values were higher than biochar yield obtained using conventional pyrolysis process i.e. 30.10 wt%. Both S1 and S2 showed considerable capacity to remove 0.6875 mg.g-1 and 0.5165 mg.g-1 methylene blue which had the initial concentration of 25 mg.L-1. The adsorption efficiencies of S1 and S2 biochars were 55.00% and 41.32%, respectively. Results obtained from the FTIR, FESEM and BET analysis also supported the methylene blue removal properties of both S1 and S2, respectively. As a conclusion, coconut shell showed potential as a useful raw material to produce biochar that can be used for methylene blue removal from solution. Nevertheless, more investigation need to be carried out prior to commercialization venture of the coconut-shell based biochar.

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Indonesia is rich in natural resources, coconut plantation being one of them. The coconut processing industry produces coconut shell (CS) waste. The most effective technique to increase the value of this waste is to convert CS biomass through pyrolysis process. This research focuses on intensification of conversion process of CS by Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis (MAP) to obtain PA. PA contains phenolic compounds which have antibacterial properties so they can be formulated as an antibacterial agent. CS has moisture and ash content of 8.89% and 0.21%, respectively. PA was produced from the MAP of CS at 600W at 450℃ and 500oC for 10, 20, and 30 minutes. The PA was extracted using ethyl acetate to obtain phenolic contents. Optimum pyrolysis condition was found at 400oC for 30 minutes and yield of PA was determined at 32.20 g with total phenolic content (TPC) of 112.13 mg GAE/g. The inhibition zone of phenolic extract from coconut shell (PECS) using E. Coli was determined within 22-25 mm that quantitatively PECS can effectively kill bacteria. PECS by MAP and its aplication as an antibacterial agent has never been performed, so this work is an important contribution in the intensification of pyrolysis and in medical field.

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