Preparation and characterization of activated carbons produced from oil palm empty fruit bunches

Abstract

Activated carbons were prepared by activating oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) using various chemicals including H3PO4, KOH or ZnCl2 and were characterized by elemental analysis, nitrogen and methylene blue adsorption. The effect of the pre-treatment of EFB by NaOH was also investigated. Among all samples, EFB pre-washed with NaOH and then activated with ZnCl2 showed the greatest maximum adsorption capacity (357 mg/g) and BET specific surface area (1265 m2/g). The experimental data of all adsorbents were well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetics model. This study demonstrated that ZnCl2 activation was the best way to obtain an activated carbon, and that NaOH pre-washing was effective as well for developing mesopores in EFB activated by H3PO4 and ZnCl2.