Effects of Gasifying Agents on the Characterization of Nut Shell-derived Activated Carbon

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Abstract
Activated carbon was prepared from nut shells using a conventional two-stage method: carbonization followed by activation. Activation with steam or carbon dioxide as activating agent produced a range of chars of different burn-off. These were characterized for their total and micropore surface areas, and benzene adsorption capacity. Benzene adsorption measurement provided an insight into the effect of porosity development on the adsorptive properties of the adsorbent. It was found that activated carbon products from nut shells were comparable, in terms of adsorption characteristics, with activated carbons from other lignocellulosic precursors. The evolution of porosity of the resulting carbons shows that carbon dioxide is the preferable agent for the production of activated carbon with a narrow micropore size distribution.