Preparation and characterization of activated carbons by one-step steam pyrolysis/activation from apricot stones

Abstract

The activated carbons were prepared from Malatya (a city located in the south-east of Turkey) apricot stones by one-step steam pyrolysis/activation process and characterized for their pore structures. Three kinds of apricot stones that differ in their sulfur content, because of the different drying processes, were chosen for this study to investigate the effect of sulfur in the activated carbon production. The effect of process variables, such as activation temperature, soak time, and particle size range was studied on these samples. The activation temperature and time tested were in the ranges of 650-850°C for 1-4 h. The activated carbons were evaluated for their chemical (elemental composition), surface (BET surface area, mercury porosimetry), and adsorption (iodine number) properties. Carbonization behavior of the apricot stones was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to follow the changes in the carbon texture upon activation.The experimental results revealed that carbons obtained by the same conditions of activation show differences in their pore structures and adsorption characteristics due to their sulfur contents. The highest BET surface area carbon (1092 m 2 /g) was obtained from the low sulfur content (0.04%) apricot stone with a particle size range of 1-3.35 mm at the activation conditions of 800°C for 4 h. The experimental results showed that commercial production of porous activated carbons from Malatya apricot stones is feasible in Turkey.

Preparation, characterization and kinetic behavior of supported copper oxide catalysts on almond shell-based activated carbon for oxidation of toluene in air

“…Activated carbons have several advantages that include; (1) hydrophobicity, (2) high surface area, (3) flexible surface, and (4) low cost [19,28]. Different inexpensive raw materials such as olive stones [20], walnut shells [29], almond shells [30], wood [31], hazelnut shells [32], and apricot shells [33] can be used to prepare activated carbons. Physical and chemical activation methods are utilized to prepare activated carbons that use carbon dioxide or water vapor and chemical agents such as ZnCl 2 , KOH, H 3 PO 4 as activation agents [34].…”

Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Activated Carbon from Vine Shoots by ZnCl2 Activation and Investigation of Its Rifampicine Removal Capability

“…Among the chemical activation reagents, ZnCl 2 is one of the widely used chemical agents in the preparation of activated carbon (Aravindhan et al, 2009;Mohan and Pittman, 2006). Many researches have been reported related to preparing activated carbon from the biomasses such as bamboo (Liu et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2015), bagasse (Tsai et al, 2001), olive stones (Martinez et al, 2006), cherry stones (Angin, 2014), oil-palm stones (Lua and Guo, 2001), apricot stones (Şentorun-Shalaby et al, 2006), walnut shells (Martinez et al, 2006), nutshells (Hayashi et al, 2002), pine cone (Momčilović et al, 2011), acorn shells (Saka, 2012), groundnut shells (Malik et al, 2007), peanut shells (Wu et al, 2013;Zhong et al, 2012;Georgin et al, 2016), coconut shells (Hasar et al, 2008), palm shell (Arami-Niya et al, 2010), cotton stalk (Deng et al, 2009), tobacco residues (Kilic et al, 2011), coffee husks (Oliveira et al, 2009), tea industry waste (Gundogdu et al, 2013), grape stalk (Deiana et al, 2009;Ozdemir et al, 2014), vine shoots (Barroso-Bogeat et al;CorchoCorral et al, 2006;Nabais et al, 2010), and water melon rind (Uner et al, 2015) by different activation methods. Among these precursors, vine shoots is also agricultural by-product generated as a result of the annual pruning works carried out in all vineyards every year.…”

Optimization of Activated Carbon Preparation From Spent Mushroom Farming Waste (Smfw) via Box–behnken Design of Response Surface Methodology

“…This was due to higher elimination of tars in the pores. Sentorun-Shalaby et al [20] reported that at higher activation temperature, activation of apricot stones became more extensive and resulted in a lower solid yield with a more widened porous structure. Figure 4 (c) shows the effect of activation time and activation temperature on the percentage yield.…”