Synthesis and Characterization of Activated Carbon Prepared from Jute Stick Charcoal for Industrial Uses

Abstract

Activated Carbons (ACs) were prepared from jute stick charcoal by chemical activation using H2SO4 and H3PO4 ranging temperature from 3000C to 3500. The activated carbons and charcoal prepared from jute sticks were characterized by evaluating the surface chemistry, structural features and surface morphology. The properties of the carbons were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Brunauer – Emmett-Teller (BET), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and the FT-IR method. The jute sticks were converted to activated carbons with the highest surface area (135–245m2/g) and largest mesopores volume (0.14–0.16 cm3/g). The FT-IR spectra exhibited that the pyrolysis of jute stick resulted in the release of aliphatic and O - containing functional groups by thermal effect. However, the release of functional groups is effect of chemical reaction in the ZnCl2, H3PO4, and H2SO4 activation process. A honeycomb carbon structure in activated carbon was formed as observed on SEM images. Although charcoal and activated carbon were prepared at 3000C to 3500, the activated carbon exhibited much lower Raman sensitivity due to the formation of condensed aromatic ring systems. Due to high surface area and high porous structure with abundance of functional groups, the activated carbon prepared from jute sticks charcoal absorbed molecules with much higher than those of other activated carbon.