Massaranduba Sawdust: A Potential Source of Charcoal and Activated Carbon.

Castro Castro,Nobre Nobre,Wood Wood,Tonoli Tonoli,Bianchi Bianchi,Chiou Chiou,Napoli Napoli,Orts Orts,Williams Williams,Avena-Bustillos Avena-Bustillos,Moulin Moulin

doi:10.3390/polym11081276

Abstract

This paper provides proof of concept that activated carbon (AC) may be readily produced using limited conversion methods and resources from sawdust of massaranduba (Manilkara huberi) wood, thereby obtaining value-added products. Sawdust was sieved and heat-treated in an oxygen-free muffle furnace at 500 °C to produce charcoal. The charcoal was activated in a tubular electric furnace at 850 °C while being purged with CO2 gas. Microstructural, thermal and physical properties of the three components: sawdust, charcoal and AC were compared by means of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), density and water adsorption/desorption measurements. The resulting AC had a large surface area as measured by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) comparable to other such values found in the literature. The large surface area was due to pore development at the microstructural level as shown by FESEM. XRD illustrated that sawdust had a semi-crystalline structure whereas charcoal and AC evidenced mostly amorphous structures. TGA and DSC showed that AC had high reactivity to moisture compared to sawdust and charcoal.

Highlights

Activated carbon (AC) is a renewable resource used in a variety of industrial applications and has potential use in many other applications [1]
Sawdust was sieved through a 60-mesh screen, placed in an oxygen-free muffle furnace and pyrolyzed by heating at a rate of 100 ◦ C.h−1 to 500 ◦ C
activated carbon (AC) from massaranduba sawdust presented higher reactivity with moisture, lower crystallinity, and higher thermal stability compared to its sawdust and charcoal precursors

Summary

Introduction

Activated carbon (AC) is a renewable resource used in a variety of industrial applications and has potential use in many other applications [1]. Removal of impurities by AC is attributed to its large surface area and reactive functional groups with affinity for impurities [2]. AC filtration of water improves taste, eliminates pigments, and reduces UV absorbance, oxidation and odor [3]. Duration and quantity determine the effectiveness of interactions (i.e., removal of impurities) of adsorbents and impurities with AC treatment, i.e., more time and more AC will result in enhanced removal of impurities by adsorption [4]. High temperature treatments are required to produce activated carbon. Behazin et al [5] produced biochar from soft wood chips and suggested that temperatures above 500 ◦ C produced char with high

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion