A Modification of Palm Waste Lignocellulosic Materials into Biographite Using Iron and Nickel Catalyst

Abstract

This paper presents an alternative way to maximize the utilization of palm waste by implementing a green approach to modify lignocellulosic materials into a highly crystalline biographite. A bio-graphite structure was successfully synthesized by converting lignocellulosic materials via a simple method using palm kernel shell (PKS) as a carbon precursor. This involved the direct impregnation of a catalyst into raw material followed by a thermal treatment. The structural transformation of the carbon was observed to be significantly altered by employing different types of catalysts and varying thermal treatment temperatures. Both XRD and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the microstructural alteration occurred in the carbon structure of the sample prepared at 800 and 1000 °C using iron, nickel or the hybrid of iron-nickel catalysts. The XRD pattern revealed a high degree of graphitization for the sample prepared at 1000 °C, and it was evident that iron was the most active graphitization catalyst. The presence of an intensified peak was observed at 2θ = 26.5°, reflecting the formation of a highly ordered graphitic structure as a result of the interaction between the iron catalyst and the thermal treatment process at 1000 °C. The XRD observation was further supported by the Raman spectrum in which PKS-Fe1000 showed a lower defect structure associated with the presence of a significant amount of graphitic structure, as a low value of (Id/Ig) ratio was reported. An HRTEM image showed a well-defined lattice fringe seen on the structure for PKS-Fe1000; meanwhile, a disordered microstructure was observed for the control sample, indicating that successful structural modification was achieved with the aid of the catalyst. Further analysis from BET found that the PKS-Fe1000 developed a surface area of 202.932 m2/g with a pore volume of 0.208 cm3/g. An overall successful modification from palm waste into graphitic material was achieved. Thus, this study will help those involved in waste management to evaluate the possibility of a sustainable process for the generation of graphite material from palm waste. It can be concluded that palm waste is a potential source of production for graphite material through the adoption of the proposed waste management process.

Potentials of palm kernel shell derivatives: a critical review on waste recovery for environmental sustainability

“…5b, the peaks represent zeolite and phosphorus at 2θ = 8.8 • and 44.6 • respectively due to the phosphoric acid effect in creating activated carbon from the PKS. Other peaks at 2θ = 21.0 .o , 26.6 • , 50.1 • , 59.9 • and 68.1 • represent the amorphous nature of the activated carbon and is consistent with other studies (Imoisili et al, 2020;Ikubanni et al, 2020;Yeboah et al, 2020, andJabarullah et al, 2021).…”

“…The use of PKS as a precursor to biographite production is a technology that is still underdeveloped. Catalyst impregnation of PKS-based carbon prior to its heat treatment to achieve highly crystalline graphite was studied by both Jabarullah et al (2021) and Othman et al (2021). The results from their study show that a biographite of high crystallinity and low defects with d 002 spacing of 0.3351 nm was realized.…”

Catalytic Graphitization of Biomass as a Potential Method Produce Graphite In The Future : A Review

“…Higher heat treatment temperatures of up to 1000 •C lead to a higher degree of graphitization. XRD data analysis revealed that all samples showed a 2θ = 26• peak, but the samples prepared using an iron catalyst displayed higher and sharper peaks with a lower ID/IG ratio, indicating higher crystallinity and fewer defects [18] Table 1 shows summary of the effect catalytic graphitization. In conclusion, the reviewed studies have shown that the catalytic graphitization process with different metal catalysts has the potential to produce graphite materials from various carbon sources.…”

“…The next development of the graphitization catalytic method is the use of a bimetallic catalyst in the graphitization process, sawdust has been successfully graphitized using a Ni-Mo catalyst derived from a solution of NiCl2-(NH4)6Mo7O26 at a temperature of 750 C for 2 hours [8]. Another catalytic graphitization process using biomass as a source of carbon are miscanthus grass with iron and cobalt as a catalyst [17], and palm kernel shell waste as a source of carbon with iron and nickel as a catalyst [18] Various attempts were made by researchers to reduce the graphitization temperature and shorten the graphitization time of biomass as a renewable source carbon using metals as a catalyst. This article, thus, focuses on review the graphitization of biomass using metals as a catalyst.…”

Recent Advances in Synthesis of Graphite from Agricultural Bio-Waste Material: A Review

“…Meanwhile, graphitization is a heat treatment process that heats a carbon precursor at high temperatures to transform the amorphous carbon into crystalline graphite [20]. For synthetic graphite production, natural carbon resources such as coal (bituminous coal [21]), anthracite [22], fossil fuels (lignite [23]) and carbonized and graphitized lignocellulosic materials (Kesambi wood [24], palm waste [25,26], etc.) have been used.…”