Development and Characterization of Surface Porosity in Tannery Sludge Derived Adsorbent

Abstract

In this work, activated carbons were prepared by a combination of physical and chemical activation from raw tannery sludge. The burn-off and the yield percentage of the acid activated carbons were evaluated for two particle size namely 600 µm (TSC600) and 300 µm (TSC300). The developed activated carbons were characterized and analysed for adsorption isotherm under nitrogen atmosphere at -196.86°C. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and the functional groups were also identified for the tannery sludge activated carbons. The thermal stability for the activated carbons TSC600 and TSC300 were confirmed by their exothermic peaks at 971.1°C and 897.4°C respectively. The higher surface area of the sludge carbons was obtained by the BET isotherm plot, suggesting the application of the produced carbon as a potential adsorbent. The surface area of TSC600 and TSC300 at the activating condition was 188.205 m 2 /g and 212.32 m 2 /g. The pore size distribution of the sludge developed was obtained by BET isotherm under the BJH method (19.77 A°<200 A°) and HK method (5.25 A°<200 A°). The developed carbons were dominated by micropores and mesopores.