Pollutants removal from combustion gases during diesel engines operation is one of the most widely known environmental applications of activated carbons. In order to guarantee the successful removal of contaminants and pollutants on activated carbons, the development of new adsorbents has been increasing in the last few years. This paper presents a systematic study for cleaning diesel engines of CO, SO2, NO2 and H2S using the process of physical adsorption on novel adsorbents obtained from tropical biomasses. The combustion gases were qualitative and quantitative analyzed by Gas Chromatography. The use of this simple method is a valuable alternative to meet emission standards in Developing Countries. It was demonstrated that the agricultural wastes studied here are a feasible alternative for granular activated carbons preparation for pollutants removal during diesel engines operation, approaching its efficiency to the commercial Catalytic Converters.

In the last years the demand of activated carbons for environmental remediation and medical applications has been growing. This situation has stimulated the study of new precursors for the synthesis of these adsorbents. This work shows the kinetic parameters of activation process of Marabou Wood (Leptoptilus Crumeniferus) using a simple mathematical model. These parameters were compared with ones corresponding to other tropical biomasses studied under similar conditions. To conduct the study, a thermo-gravimetric analysis was carried out in steam water. The study was carried on from room temperature to 1000°C with a heating rate of 10°C/min, additionally; the crystallinity was determined by X-rays diffraction analysis. The characterization of the activated carbon was carried out through parameters that provide an indirect measure of the mechanical resistance. Interesting correlations for the analyzed thermal conversion processes were also obtained.

Study the feasibility of some agricultural wastes as raw material for activated carbons production with high specific surface area, high mechanical resistance and wide availability.