Textural characteristics of activated carbons derived from tabah bamboo manufactured by using H3PO4 chemical activation

Abstract

Activated carbon utilization in a different application requires a specific characteristic. Textural characteristics such as pore volume (V P ), surface area (S A ), pore diameter (D P ) and pore size distribution (PSDs) have an important effect on the quality and utility of activated carbon. Such characteristics are attributed to the activated carbon adsorption capacity. This research is concerned to investigate the textural properties of activated carbons derived from tabah bamboo ( Gigantochloa nigrociliata ) which are chemically activated using H 3 PO 4 activating agent. Carbonization was carried out up to 800 O C for 1.5 hours. Activations were set up to 820 O C for each 50, 100 and 150 minutes. The activated carbons produced are expressed as AC-50min, AC-100min, and AC-150min each for activation during 50, 100, and 150 minutes. The results of the research show that the higher activation time produced activated carbons with higher pore volume and wider average pore diameter but no pattern was observed on the surface area. The highest surface area of 398.400 m 2 /g and the highest pore volume of 0.680 cc/g were achieved by AC-100min and AC-150min activated carbons, respectively. The highest N 2 adsorption capacity of 48.743 cc/g was achieved on the activated carbon of AC-150min. AC-50min, AC-100min, and AC-150min have average pore diameters, respectively, around of 1.258 nm, 1.750 nm, and 3.950 nm. AC-50min and AC-100min produced pores with a monomodal pore size distribution and a bimodal pore size distribution was found on AC-150min