Synthesis and characterization of microporous granular activated carbon from Silver berry seeds using ZnCl₂ activation

Abstract

Granular activated carbon (GAC) was synthesized from Silver berry (Elaeagnus Angustifolia L.) seeds using zinc chloride as the activation agent. To optimize the operating parameters, the effects of the time and temperature of carbonization, impregnation ratio, and heating rate on the iodine number and yield of activated carbon were studied. Optimized parameters were impregnation ratio of 1:1, carbonization temperature of 500 °C, carbonization time of 1 hour, and heating rate of 5 °C/min. The GAC synthesized under optimized conditions was characterized by Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, SEM, EDX, XRD, FT-IR, Boehm titration, TG-TGA, and TG-IR. It was found that the synthesized GAC has a microporous structure with a BET surface area of 1109 m 2 /g, a micropores volume of 0.317 cm 3 /g, and an average pore diameter of 2.1 nm. The methylene blue (MB) dye was employed as a molecule model to evaluate the porosity and the adsorption capacity of the synthesized GAC. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of MB and the percent portion of the surface area (S MB /S BET ) were 120.48 mg/g and 30.62%, respectively. The experimental results reveal that the synthesized GAC can be used as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of small and large environmental pollutants.

Utilizing Olive Mill Solid Wastes from the Olive Oil Industry as a Robust Adsorbent for Methylene Blue Removal

“…These cavities can be ascribed to the volatilization of ZnCl2 during the carbonization process, resulting in the creation of empty spaces that were previously occupied by ZnCl2. Similar voids were observed during the carbonization of silverberry seeds using ZnCl2 under ambient air conditions at a temperature of 500°C for iodine adsorption [31].…”

“…In a comparison to olive stone AC, which was prepared at 400 o C, exhibited a textured, densely packed surface with unevenly distributed pores amidst the graphene sheets with C (90.08%), O (6.68%), and phosphorus (P) (3.23%) [35]. EDX analysis for silverberry seeds AC also showed Zn element (0.43%) and Cl (3.10%) in addition to C (96.37%) and sulfur (S) [31].…”

“…The XRD pattern of AC prepared by chemical activation with ZnCl2 is presented in Figure 3. The presence of a broad diffraction peak at 2θ = 20-30º, corresponding to the reflection plane (0 0 2), is indicative of the characteristic structure of disordered aromatic carbons [31].…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Acid-Activated Carbon Prepared from Sugarcane Bagasse for Furfural Production in Aqueous Media

“…The carbonization process yield using ZnCl 2 and NiCl 2 showed close values; however, they were lower than the yield obtained using CuCl 2 as an activating agent. The observed yields are in the range reported for producing activated carbons by the chemical activation method with different precursor materials and activating agents, according to studies by Zhang et al [37], Liew et al [38], Norouzi et al [39], Fu et al [40], Benmahdi et al [41], and Mbarki et al [42]. AC/CuCl 2 exhibited a lower sulfonation yield when compared to AC/NiCl 2 and AC/ZnCl 2 , likely due to the reaction of metallic copper and H 2 SO 4 with the loose carbon atoms in macro and mesopores of the carbonic structure initially formed.…”