Coconut Shell Activated Carbon Research Articles

Refinement of cooking oil using activated carbon from coconut shell and zeolite

Bulk cooking oil is obtained from traditional markets and and relatively has a characteristic color that tends to be brownish and unclear; cooking oil has been repeatedly used after frying, resulting in physical changes such as darkening, thickening, and foaming. If bulk cooking oil is repeatedly used for frying, it can be detrimental to health as it may accumulate saturated fatty acids in the oil. This condition prompted the search for solutions to purify bulk cooking oil and use cooking oil using processed zeolite and coconut shell-activated carbon as adsorbents to improve the quality of cooking oil. This research utilizes an experimental-quantitative method. Variations in composition include sample A (bulk cooking oil: 75% and processed natural zeolite: 25%), sample B (bulk cooking oil: 75% and coconut shell activated carbon: 25%), sample C (used cooking oil: 75% and processed natural zeolite: 25%), and sample D (used cooking oil: 75% and coconut shell activated carbon: 25%). The research results on the quality of coconut shell activated carbon obtain moisture content of 13.2%, ash content of 2.1%, volatile matter content of 17.9%, and carbon content of 80.0%, which meets the SNI 06-3730-1995 standard. Meanwhile, the quality results of cooking oil after the purification process obtain moisture content values of 0.09-0.10%, free fatty acid values of 0.14-0.30%, and normal color that does not exceed the maximum standard required by SNI 7709:2019 with a percentage reduction in moisture content of 0-60% and free fatty acids of 0-63.41%.

Study on the adsorption performance of amoxicillin by hydrothermally modified coconut shell activated carbon

AbstractBACKGROUNDUtilizing biowaste‐derived carbon (C) materials to remediate antibiotic‐rich wastewater has considerable ecological significance in the broader ecological cycle. In this study, coconut shell activated carbon (AC) was modified using a potassium hydroxide (KOH) hydrothermal method, and the influence of modified coconut shell AC on the adsorption of amoxicillin at different particle sizes and treatment temperatures was investigated. In addition, the adsorption kinetics of amoxicillin on different modified coconut shell AC was studied.RESULTSThe study found that unmodified coconut shell AC itself had a certain adsorption capacity for amoxicillin, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 22.43 mg g−1. After hydrothermal‐alkali modification, the adsorption capacity of coconut shell AC for amoxicillin was greatly improved, with an adsorption capacity increase of 221%. In addition, the adsorption kinetic fitting results showed that the adsorption process of amoxicillin on coconut shell AC was more consistent with the pseudo‐second‐order kinetic model.CONCLUSIONThe optimal modification condition for coconut shell AC was to treat coconut shell AC with a particle size of 80–120‐mesh at 160 °C. The findings of this study could offer a green and environmentally sustainable approach for amoxicillin‐contaminated wastewater treatment, and also could provide a certain theoretical basis for the application of biowaste resources in organic wastewater treatment. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

Application of coconut shell activated carbon filter in vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland for enhanced multi-metal bioremediation and antioxidant response of Salvinia cucullate

Coconut shell activated carbon (CNSAC) was applied as a filter layer in hybrid vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland (H-VSSF-CW), in order to enhance the multi-metal removal efficiency of the constructed wetland (CW) and to reduce heavy metal accumulation on Salvinia cucullata. Treatment P + AC, (having CNSAC filter layer), showed 32, 21 and 34% more Cd, Cr, and Pb removal efficiency than treatment P (without CNSAC layer). CNSAC activated carbon adsorbed Cd and Pb and Cr by functional groups –NH, -NO2, -C-O, –OH and –CO, and significantly reduced Cd and Pb exposure to S. cucullate. Chromium adsorption by CNSAC filter layer was half (just 25% of total input) of the Cd and Pb. In treatment P, due to high Cd, Pb and Cr accumulation in S. cucullate, the antioxidant defense mechanism of the plant was collapsed and cell death was observed, which in turn has resulted reduced biomass gain (5% reduction). On the other hand, in treatment P + AC, an antioxidant defense mechanism was active in the form significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased of SOD, CAT and proline content while reduced MDA, EL, %EB and soluble sugar. So, the application of CNSAC increased the heavy metal removal efficiency of H-VSSF-CW by adsorption of a considerable share of heavy metal and hence, reduced the heavy metal load/exposure to S. cucullate.

Heavy metal and bacterial water filtration using Moringa oleifera and coconut shell-activated carbon

Scarcity of potable drinking water exposes people to dangerous impurities – i.e., lead, copper, nitrates, and Escherichia coli – that contribute to life-threatening health concerns and are subsequently detrimental to the environment. Current, complex water filtration systems, most commonly reverse osmosis (RO) water filtration systems, remove some heavy metals and bacteria, but are chemically based and expensive to install and maintain. Moringa oleifera, commonly referred to as moringa, is a vegetable tree that produces leaves and fruit with both antibacterial and filtration properties for the removal of bacteria, sediment, and heavy metals suitable for removing them from water. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of moringa seeds as a filtration material. To conduct this study, we filtered simulated polluted water containing lead oxide, copper, and ammonium nitrate with moringa. Our results showed that moringa seeds were an effective filtration material. However, the filtered water still contained a significant concentration of heavy metals. Therefore, to further purify the water, we added a coconut shell-activated carbon (CSAC) filter, which proved to remove 100% of the residual contaminants. A real-world testing sample from Elm Fork Trinity River water was also tested for both heavy metal elimination and bacterial filtration. Results revealed that after the two-stage filtration, E. coli was no longer in detectable range. Our study demonstrates an effective method of heavy metal and bacteria removal from polluted water. Using moringa seed powder and CSAC, this economical, readily available filter can prove to be a more efficient alternative than current RO Systems.

Screen printed carbon electrode from coconut shell char for lead ions detection

This research aimed to produce a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) from an activated coconut shell carbon. As a raw material, coconut shell char provides renewability and is abundantly available in the market. Meanwhile, SPCE offers a simple electroanalytical electrode because the working, counter, and reference electrodes are in one piece. The coconut shell carbon was activated by steam at 700 oC for 1h, producing AC700 that was then characterized to ensure the result by following per under carbon as the main component, the phases, crystal structure, surface area, morphology, and elemental content. The result showed that the surface area of AC700 is 816 m2/g, and the surface structure is porous, as identified by SEM images. Impedance analysis followed by data fitting and conductivity calculation found a high conductivity of 8.68 x 10-2 Scm‑1. The produced-SPCE or SPAC700 was modified by ferrocene at various compositions of 10%; 20%; and 30% of mass. The SPAC700-Fc30 provided the best performance for lead analysis with a detection limit of 0.35 mM, a quantitation limit of 1.17 mM, and good reproducibility with a Repeatability Coefficient (RC) of 0.022. SPAC700-Fc30 showed good lead ions detection despite under 10% Cu2+ and 10% Co2+ interferences. The result confirmed the potential use of coconut shell char as the raw material for SPCE production.

Preparation of Fe3O4@CSAC catalyst and its degradation performance and heat release mechanisms in sewage degradation

To investigate the exothermic characteristics of a heterogeneous Fenton system during the degradation of organic sewage and provide technical support for energy recovery in sewage treatment, the catalyst Fe3O4@CSAC (coconut shell-activated carbon) was prepared.

Equilibrium and kinetic studies in adsorption of H2S using coconut shell activated carbon xerogel: Effect of mass adsorbent and temperature

The presence of acid gases like hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in natural gas, refinery gas, and coal gas necessitates their removal from the gas stream to prevent corrosion of pipelines and production equipment and to ensure safety due to the toxic nature of H2S. A study was conducted to synthesize an adsorbent that is made from coconut shell which is modified to form coconut shell-activated carbon xerogel (CSACX). The main objective is to determine the kinetic models’ equation and adsorption isotherms that are most suitable for the adsorption of hydrogen sulfide by using CSACX. Two parameters were studied which were the adsorbent mass and the gas temperature. The adsorption process could be mathematically represented using the Thomas Model, Yoon-Nelson Model, and Adam-Bohart. It is expected that the adsorption process is mathematically represented using the Thomas and Yoon-Nelson Model for both the effect of mass of adsorbent and effect of gas temperature. The kinetic models used were Pseudo-First Order and Pseudo-Second Order. Suitability of equation was determined by correlation coefficient (R2). The higher the R2, the more suitable the equation is to process. It is expected that the adsorption processes using the CSACX fit both pseudo-first and pseudo-second order equation. This means that both physisorption and chemisorption occur during the adsorption process.

Sustainable bamboo and coconut shell activated carbon for purifying river water on Borneo Island

This research aims to transform agricultural waste abundantly available in Sarawak into activated carbon as a sustainable water treatment source. Seven river water samples from Sarawak River were collected and treated with 2 g, 4 g, 6 g, 8 g, and 10 g of bamboo activated carbon (BAC) and coconut shell activated carbon (CSAC). Parameters investigated include Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), pH, Temperature. The removal of TSS and NH3-N increases with the increment of the BAC and CSAC dosages from 2 g to 10 g. 10 g of BAC is able to remove 83.35 % of TSS and 82.61 % of NH3-N in 750 ml of river water, while 10 g of CSAC is only able to remove 79.18 % of TSS and 83.73 % of NH3-N for 750 ml of river water. Results revealed that BAC is marginally more effective than CSAC in treating river water. DO levels were lowered undesirably after the treatment process. The temperature slightly increases after treatment due to exothermic chemical reactions and adsorption processes. The treatment brings little impact on pH level. The developed BAC and CSAC have proven sustainable, simple, low cost, and environmentally friendly with their excellent porous structure and large specific surface area for river water treatment.

Fabrication of coconut shell activated carbon filter system for removal of colour and pollutants in textile dye effluent

The present study evaluates the Decolorization and pollutant removal efficiency of chemically impregnated coconut shell-activated carbon using textile dye effluent in the filtration system. The coconut shell zinc chloride activated carbon (CSZAC) was used as a filtering media in wastewater treatment due to its wider pore space with better surface area (590.80 m2 g−1) and higher adsorption capacity. The SEM micrograph revealed that the activated carbon had networks of parallel running pores with internal microstructure and more active sites. The designed activated carbon filter system has dimensions of 90 x 60 x 30 cm; the sections included are the holding tank (50 liters capacity), filtration tank and storage tank with the optimized flow rate of 5 x 10−4 m3 min−1. The Color, pH, EC, TDS, TSS, BOD and COD of textile dyeing wastewater were significantly reduced, after the treatment through the CSZAC filtration system. The initial color concentration of textile dye effluent was 7021 HU and after treatment, the color was fully reduced and became colorless. CSZAC treatment reduced the BOD from 600 mg L−1 to 89.7 mg L−1 (80.6 per cent) and COD from 2500 mg L−1 to 205 mg L−1 (90.5 per cent). Therefore, CSZAC can be used as an effective adsorbent material to remove different dye compounds and pollutants from textile wastewater.

Performance of Coconut-shell Activated Carbon on Methylene Blue Treatment

Coconut shell was chosen as a raw material to synthesize activated carbon through physical and chemical activation methods and to evaluate the performance of methylene blue treatment Physical activation method was done by heating the coconut shell in the furnace at 400°C and the chemical activation method was done by using phosphoric acid. Prepared coconut-shell activated carbon (CSAC) was analysed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to determine the presence of functional groups and their composition. Methylene blue (MB) was chosen as a dye that can be considered as a major pollutant in textile industries’ wastewater. It is a toxic and carcinogenic dye that is harmful to organisms that are exposed to or consumed. The adsorption method using CSAC was used to treat methylene blue due to its higher MB removal efficiency. In this study, methylene blue samples were treated using different dosages of CSAC (15g, 20g, 25g). Color removal (CR%) analysis, COD analysis, and turbidity analysis were done to evaluate the performance of CSAC on methylene blue treatment. 95.59%, 97.40%, and 98.23% of color removal (CR%) were achieved using CSAC dosages of 15g, 20g, and 25g respectively. For COD analysis, 55.41%, 64.33%, and 80.25% of COD removal (%) were achieved when 15g, 20g and 25 g of CSAC dosages were used. 81.48%, 85.19%, and 92.59% of turbidity removal (%) were achieved using CSAC dosages of 15g, 20g, and 25 g respectively. Hence, the adsorption process of MB increases when the dosage of CSAC increases due to surface areas present in the sample.

Activated hydrochar derived from coconut shell and microalgae through hydrothermal carbonization for the CO2 adsorption

Activated carbon (AC) has proven to be an effective adsorbent for gas and liquid. However, the production of AC involves high energy consumption and the use of limited non-renewable resources as feedstock. In this study, activated carbon was synthesized through hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) at a low temperature using coconut shells and microalgae. The adsorbents were characterised by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to determine the surface function. The results indicate that the coconut shell activated carbon (CSAC) precursor had a higher yield compared to microalgae-based activated carbon (MAAC). However, the carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake of MAAC at 1.0 bar is 115.4% higher. A combination of algae and coconut shells as feedstock resulted in competitive activated carbon compared to MAAC (7.74 wt% instead of 8.28 wt%). The results of this study suggest that waste biomass hydrochars could be considered as low-cost adsorbents for carbon dioxide removal and that this would be useful in environmental applications for post-combustion carbon capture.

The Effect of Carbon on Chitosan-ZnO Composites as Fabric Mask Coating Materials

Increasing the effectiveness of cloth masks can reduce the use of disposable medical masks which creates a new waste problem. In this research, the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles was carried out using the precipitation method through the reaction between zinc nitrate and phosphoric acid as one of the ingredients in the chitosan-ZnO/C composite mixture. The carbon source is obtained from activated coconut shell carbon using sodium hydroxide. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) testing was carried out to determine the phase content of the synthesized carbon powder. XRD testing was also carried out on synthesized ZnO particles to determine the occurrence of phase transformations and to determine the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the material. Fourier Transform Infrared testing was also carried out to observe functional group bonds formed in carbon compounds. Composite materials that have been successfully made will then be tested for hydrophobicity by calculating the contact angle. The results of this study indicate that the synthetic base material has been successfully carried out and the composite has been successfully made. The highest water contact angle is 106o was found in the chitosan/ZnO composite sample with a ratio of 2:1 and a mass variation of 0.05 gr active carbon.

Dynamic adsorption characteristics of orthophosphate using iron-loaded coconut shell-activated carbon

The excessive presence of orthophosphate in water often leads to eutrophication, which is detrimental to aquatic ecosystem. Also, coconut shell is a sustainable source of activated carbon for adsorption applications. Hence, the present work was aimed at evaluating iron-loaded coconut shell activated carbon for the removal of orthophosphate from water. The resulting activated carbon exhibits a specific surface of 722 m2 g−1 for a superior adsorption of orthophosphate. In batch mode, the activated carbon shows a greater capacity of 315 mg g−1, while in dynamic mode, it recorded a 12 mg g−1 capacity in a 10 cm bed height with 10 mg/L orthophosphate concentration at flow rate of 3 mL min−1. At fixed flow rate, the breakthrough time was found to be directly proportional with bed height and inversely proportional with inlet concentration. The Thomas model was suitable to describe the breakthrough curve and dynamic behaviour. Excellent orthophosphate adsorbent can be produced from coconut shell as an alternative to commercial metal oxide adsorbents.

Metal ion removal using a low-cost coconut shell activated carbon bioadsorbent in the recovery of lactic acid from the fermentation broth

Downstream recovery and purification of lactic acid from the fermentation broth using locally available, low-cost materials derived from agricultural residues was demonstrated herein. Surface modification of coconut shell activated carbon (CSAC) was performed by grafting with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) using citric acid (CA) as the crosslinking agent. A proper ratio of CMC and CA to CSAC and grafting time improved the surface functionalization of grafted nanostructured CMC-CSAC while the specific surface area and porosity remained unchanged. Lactic acid was partially purified (78%) with the recovery percentage of lactic acid at 96% in single-stage adsorption at room temperature and pH 6 with a 10:1 ratio of cell-free broth to CMC-CSAC bioadsorbent. A thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption was exothermic and non-spontaneous while the Langmuir isotherm model explained the adsorption phenomena. The results in this study represented the potential of waste utilization as solid adsorbents in green and low-cost adsorption technology.Graphical

Economical, Simple‐to‐Prepare, and Salt‐Resistant Evaporator Based on Porous Activated Carbon for Sustainable Solar Evaporation

Interfacial solar vapor evaporation is expected to be an emerging technology to solve the scarcity of freshwater due to its sustainability and high efficiency. However, the present application of evaporators is mainly limited by the complex preparation process, expensive cost of raw material, and poor structure. Herein, based on coconut shell activated carbon (CSC) and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a cost‐effective and robust CSC/UHMWPE (CSC/PE) evaporator is prepared through sintering in a mold. Benefiting from high light absorptance (≈90%) and excellent thermal localization, the CSC/PE evaporator exhibits an evaporation rate of 1.340 kg m−2 h−1 and an evaporation efficiency of 80.57% in 3.5 wt% brine under 1 sun irradiation. Moreover, by regulating the component ratios, the CSC/PE evaporator achieves superhydrophilicity and proper water transportation rate, and shows long‐term stability with an average evaporation rate of 1.309 kg m−2 h−1 in natural seawater for 10 h. Specifically, the high porosity CSC/PE facilitates the salt resistance in high salinity brine (15 wt%). Importantly, the cost‐effectiveness of CSC/PE is 53.43 g h−1 $−1, which is economical compared to other reported evaporators. Therefore, the economical, simple‐to‐prepare, and durable CSC/PE evaporator has enormous potential in interfacial solar vapor evaporation for freshwater production.

Development of novel nanocomposites based on SrSnO3-conjugated coconut-shell activated carbon with conducting polymers towards 4-nitrophenol detection by electrochemical approach

To simplify the synthesis process for developing a sensor for 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), an in-situ chemical oxidation method was applied by composite of coconut shell-activated carbon (CSAC) and SrSnO3 coated with conducting polymers (CPs) such as Polypyrrole (PPy), Polyindole (PIn), and Polycarbazole (PCz), resulting in the formation of ternary nanocomposites (NCs) consisting of CSAC/SrSnO3/PPy, CSAC/SrSnO3/PIn, and CSAC/SrSnO3/PCz. To facilitate their application as a sensing platform, the synthesized NCs were successfully modified onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), enabling their effective use in the detection of 4-NP. Despite utilizing the same fillers, the composites displayed distinct thermal and structural characteristics, suggesting the formation of fundamentally different composites that interact with the 4-NP analyte in unique ways. Furthermore, the detection effectiveness of all the NCs was compared in this study. It was found that the ternary CSAC/SrSnO3/PPy NCs exhibited higher sensitivity compared to sensors composed of either CSAC/SrSnO3/PIn or CSAC/SrSnO3/PCz NCs. These findings highlight the potential of CSAC/SrSnO3/PPy ternary NCs as promising sensors for 4-NP detection, attributed to their high sensitivity (6.329 µAmM−1cm−2), exceptionally lower detection limit (LOD; 0.15 nM), and limit of quantity (LOQ; 0.45 nM) with a linear dynamic range (LDR) from 1.0 nM to 10.0 mM for 4-NP concentrations. Additionally, the proposed 4-NP sensor improved electrical interactions and demonstrated rapid response times and satisfactory reproducibility in its performance. The proposed sensor was employed for the environmental samples analysis and highly satisfactory results were obtained. Thus, the study presents a novel approach for the detection of hazardous chemicals in the environment by utilizing newly developed NCs based on an electrochemical method.

Comparative analysis of adsorption and release properties of β-phenylethanol on two kinds of activated carbon

In order to understand the adsorption and release properties of β-phenylethanol on activated carbon produced from different carbon sources, coconut shell activated carbon (CAC) and petroleum coke activated carbon (PAC) were selected for the immobilization β-phenylethanol. The structure and morphology of CAC and PAC were characterized by SEM, BET and TGA analysis. And then the effect of carbon sources and pore structure on β-phenylethanol adsorption and release properties were investigated by kinetic model. The results showed that the microporosity ratios for CAC and PAC were 89.13% and 77.12%, respectively, and both types of activated carbon were dominated by micropore structure. The adsorption behavior of β-phenylethanol on the CAC and PAC was both controlled by the physical adsorption, and the equilibrium adsorption capacity of CAC (391.2 mg/g) was 45.50% of that of PAC (859.8mg/g). Quasi primary equation can be used to describe the adsorption of β-phenylethanol on both types of activated carbon, i.e., the external transport resistance plays a major role in the adsorption process. The results of thermogravimetric analysis showed that the thermal stability of β-phenylethanol was obviously improved after the immobilization into activated carbon, accompanied with a higher temperature intervals for the release process and a decreased release rate. And the thermal stability of CAC loaded with β-phenylethanol was higher than that of PAC. Furthermore, the sustained release of β-phenylethanol from CAC and PAC was more consistent with the Korsmeyer-Peppas model and was dominated by Fick diffusion. The release rates of β-phenylethanol were 27.34% and 57.57% for CAC and PAC, respectively, under 35 days of storage at room temperature. The higher micropore ratio and lower mean pore width of CAC were responsible for the good stability and sustained release properties of immobilized β-phenylethanol.

Iron-loaded coconut shell-activated carbons for orthophosphate adsorption

Iron-loaded coconut shell-activated carbons for orthophosphate adsorption

Biotechnological enhancement of lactic acid conversion from pretreated palm kernel cake hydrolysate by Actinobacillus succinogenes 130Z

The aim of this study was to establish an improved pretreatment and fermentation method i.e. immobilized cells for high recovery of fermentable sugars from palm kernel cake (PKC) and its effects on fermentability performance by Actinobacillus succinogenes 130Z in the conversion of the fermentable sugar to lactic acid. The effects of oxalic acid concentrations (1–6% w/v) and residence times (1–5 h) on the sugar recovery were initially investigated and it was found that the highest mannose concentration was 25.1 g/L at the optimum hydrolysis conditions of 4 h and 3% (w/v) oxalic acid. The subsequent enzymatic saccharification of the pretreated PKC afforded the highest enzymatic digestibility with the recovered sugars amounting to 25.18 g/L and 9.14 g/L of mannose and glucose, respectively. Subsequently, the fermentability performance of PKC hydrolysate was evaluated and compared in terms of cultivation phases (i.e. mono and dual-phases), carbonate loadings (i.e. magnesium and sodium carbonates), and types of sugars (i.e. glucose and mannose). The highest titer of 19.4 g/L lactic acid was obtained from the fermentation involving A. succinogenes 130Z in dual-phase cultivation supplemented with 30 g/L of magnesium carbonate. Lactic acid production was further enhanced by using immobilized cells with coconut shell-activated carbon (CSAC) of different sizes (A, B, C, and D) in the repeated batch cultivation of dual-phase fermentation producing 31.64 g/L of lactic acid. This work sheds light on the possibilities to enhance the utilization of PKC for lactic acid production via immobilized A. succinogenes 130Z.

Carbon template synthesis of CeO2 catalyst for direct conversion of methanol and carbon dioxide to dimethyl carbonate

Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is an interesting, value added chemical and a high energy additive to fuels. In this study, several CeO2 catalysts were successfully synthesized through carbon template method using two renewable sources of activated carbon. The structure of catalysts was fully resolved by XRD, SEM, N2-adsorption, NH3-TPD, CO2-TPD and XPS. CeO2 catalysts prepared using coconut shell activated carbon (CAC) template exhibit better surface morphology and improved catalytic performance compared to walnut shell activated carbon (WAC)-supported catalysts. We demonstrated a correlation between the efficiency of DMC synthesis and the abundance of moderately acidic and moderately basic active sites on the catalyst. It was found that the presence of oxygen vacancies (Vo) facilitates carbonyl bond cleavage of CO2. The best-performing catalyst was 4% CeO2/CAC owing to the richest Vo and the optimum acid/base properties. Moreover, a plausible catalytic mechanism of DMC formation was proposed, and includes the interaction between methoxy carbonate (CH3OCO2−) formed with the aid of Vo and moderately basic sites and methyl cation (CH3+) formed on the moderately acidic sites.