Synthesis and Characterisation of Biochar Activated Carbon for Oil Spills Removal

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) is an effective material for various environmental and industrial applications. The characteristics and performance of AC is a result of interaction between source and method of preparation. In the current work, AC has been prepared from date seed waste using microwave heating under nitrogen using basic medium such as potassium hydroxide and acidic medium such as sulfuric acid as chemical activating agents. The AC was characterised using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). XRD patterns of the AC in both cases exhibited three peaks corresponding to the crystalline graphite form of carbon. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the freshly prepared carbons showed that the samples contained particles of various sizes including both nanoparticles as well as millimetre-range particles. DSC analysis showed that the samples exhibited endothermic reaction in low temperature ranges until 300°C and exothermic reaction above this temperature. SEM analysis of the AC, separated into three different size ranges, showed significant etching of the surface of the carbon to yield porous structures. The AC produced using sulfuric acid showed better adsorption capacity (9.2 g g−1) when compared to that produced using potassium hydroxide (7.7 g g–1). We conclude that the AC prepared from date seeds can find potential application in water purification and oil spill clean-up.