Abstract
The porous carbon (bacterial cellulose (BC)-activated carbon (AC)(BA)) prepared via two-step activation of bacterial nanocellulose by treatments with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and then phosphoric acid (H3PO4) solutions showed superior adsorption properties and effective performance as catalyst support. BC-AC(BA) had an open and interconnected multi-porous structure, consisting of micropores (0.23 cm3/g), mesopores (0.26 cm3/g), and macropores (4.40 cm3/g). The BET surface area and porosity were 833 m2/g and 91.2%, respectively. The methylene blue adsorption test demonstrated that BC-AC(BA) was superior in its mass transfer rate and adsorption capacities. Moreover, BC-AC(BA) modified by H3PO4 treatment showed a significant enhancement of catalytic performance for dehydration of ethanol. At the reaction temperature of 250–400 °C, 30P/BC-AC(BA) gave ethanol conversion at 88.4–100%, with ethylene selectivity of 82.6–100%, whereas, high selectivity for diethyl ether (DEE) at 75.2%, at ethanol conversion of 60.1%, was obtained at the reaction temperature of 200 °C.
Highlights
Activated carbon (AC) is a carbonaceous material with high porosity, high surface area, high physical and chemical stability, high adsorptive activity, high mechanical strength, high thermal stability, and low cost [1]
The samples obtained from one-step activation are denoted as bacterial cellulose (BC)-AC(X), where X is the activating agent, i.e., BC-derived activated carbon (BC-AC)(A) refers to an AC derived from BC with H3 PO4 (A) activation
The samples obtained from two-step activation are denoted as BC-AC(YZ), where Y is the first activating agent in first step activation, and Z is the second activating agent in second step activation, i.e., BC-AC(AB) refers to an AC derived from BC by using H3 PO4 (A) as first activating agent in first step activation and KOH (B)
Summary
Activated carbon (AC) is a carbonaceous material with high porosity, high surface area, high physical and chemical stability, high adsorptive activity, high mechanical strength, high thermal stability, and low cost [1]. These properties lead to a wide variety of industrial applications, such as an adsorbent in an adsorption process [2], catalyst or catalyst support in chemical reactions [3], material for removal of heavy metals from wastewater [4], and separator material in gas separation processes [5]. BC has a nanoporous structure formed by micro- and nanocellulose fibers with unique properties, including its high porosity, high degree of crystallinity, high surface area for adsorption, high tensile strength, high water-retention
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