Abstract
Oil palm male flowers (PMFs), an abundant agricultural waste from oil palm plantation in Thailand, have been utilized as an alternative precursor to develop nanoporous carbons (NPCs) via microwave-assisted pyrolysis combined potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation. The influences of relevant processing variables, such as activating agent ratio, microwave power, and activation time on the specific pore characteristics, surface morphology, and surface chemistry of PMFs derived nanoporous carbons (PMFCs) have been investigated to explore the optimum preparation condition. The optimum condition under a microwave radiation power of 700 W, activation holding time of 6 min, and activating agent ratio of 2:1 obtained the PMFC with the highest Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area and total pore volume approximately of 991 m2/g and 0.49 cm3/g, composed of a carbon content of 74.56%. Meanwhile, PMFCs have a highly microporous structure of about 71.12%. Moreover, activating agent ratio and microwave radiation power indicated a significant influence on the surface characteristics of PMFCs. This study revealed the potential of oil palm male flowers for the NPCs’ production via microwave-assisted KOH activation with a short operating-time condition.
Highlights
Nanoporous carbons (NPCs), one of carbon materials with a highly porous structure and enlarged surface area, have been conventionally produced from natural coal or petroleum solid wastes.The utilization of nanoporous carbons (NPCs) is extremely useful in adsorption and separation processes for contaminant removal because of its high adsorptive performance [1]
The palm male flowers (PMFs) char yield is approximately 33.5 wt% owing to the decomposition of organic substances in biomaterial structures, which are commonly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin
An increment of activation time achieves a reduction of PMFs derived nanoporous carbons (PMFCs) yield until the activation time rises to 8 min
Summary
Nanoporous carbons (NPCs), one of carbon materials with a highly porous structure and enlarged surface area, have been conventionally produced from natural coal or petroleum solid wastes.The utilization of NPC is extremely useful in adsorption and separation processes for contaminant removal because of its high adsorptive performance [1]. Nanoporous carbons (NPCs), one of carbon materials with a highly porous structure and enlarged surface area, have been conventionally produced from natural coal or petroleum solid wastes. It was noted to conduce to energy applications such as biocatalyst and catalyst support material [2,3], as well as electronic devices [4]. NPC applications in catalysis pathways are served owing to a favorable pore structure, extensive degree of surface active-site, and high surface area. NPC produced from various types of agricultural residues that could be applied as a metal catalyst support for the biofuel and biochemical production. Recent studies explored the use of NPC as a high-performance supercapacitor electrodes [5]
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