Production of highly porous biochar via microwave physiochemical activation for dechlorination in water treatment

Abstract

Most biomass is composted into low-grade biofertilizer or processed into energy fuel for burning. At the same time, waste palm shell is potentially converted into highly porous biochar for dechlorination in water treatment. A single-mode microwave activation was developed to perform microwave activation that incorporated the application of steam, KOH, and a physiochemical process. The single-mode microwave activation was performed at the activation temperature ranging from 550–600 °C and recorded a short process duration of 5 min. The steam-activated biochar showed a mass yield of 88.3 wt%, a surface area of 527.4 m2/g, and a dechlorination efficiency of 25.5 mg/g. KOH-activated biochar showed a mass yield of 90.5 wt%, a surface area of 301.1 m2/g and a dechlorination efficiency of 24.0 mg/g. The physiochemical activated biochar showed the highest pores surface area of 717.8 m2/g and dechlorination efficiency of 35.8 mg/g but the lowest mass yield of 77.6 wt%. The results demonstrate that the greater the surface area, the higher the dechlorination efficiency. Using microwave heating and physiochemical activation technology demonstrates a promising way to produce activated biochar for the dechlorination of drinking water.