Production and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Baobab Fruit Shells by Chemical Activation Using ZnCl<sub>2</sub>, H3PO4 and KOH
Radhia Nedjai, Nassereldeen Ahmed Kabbashi, Md. Zahangir Alam, Ma’an Fahmi Rashid Alkhatib
Abstract
Abstract Chemical agents have a good influence on the formation of activated carbons, surface characteristic, and its adsorption properties. In this study, the effect of activating agents (ZnCl 2 , KOH, and H 3 PO 4 ) on baobab fruit shell (BFS) were evaluated. The characteristics of the baobab fruit shell based activated carbon (BF-ACs) were evaluated through the yield and iodine number. BF-ACs were also characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen (N 2 ) adsorption. SEM analysis illustrates those porous structures formed on the surface of BF-ACs were with different sizes. The XRD analysis show that the main structures of BF-ACs are amorphous. FT-IR data demonstrates the presence of different surface groups on the produced BF-ACs. Among activating agent, the KOH was observed to the most appropriate for the production of activated carbon with a large surface area (1029.44 m 2 /g) from baobab fruit shell.