A Study of the Factors that Affect the Preparation of Activated Carbons from Acorn Shell

Date of Award

5-2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Chemistry

First Advisor

Dr. Penny Snetsinger

Abstract

Activated carbon is and has been one of the most efficient agents applied in water and wastewater treatment. However, commercially produced activated carbon can be expensive and is normally produced from non-renewable sources. In this study the aim is to generate activated carbon from a renewable and low-cost materials that occur naturally and are generally discarded. Factors studied influencing the efficiency of the activation process included activation temperature (600 °C, and 800 °C), carbonization time (1 hr, and 3 hr), and nitrogen flow rate (200 mL/min, 400 mL/min), impregnation ratio (25% ZnCl₂, and 50% ZnCl₂) and activation by ZnCl₂ as chemical agent. Impregnation ratio refers to the concentration of chemical agent that was used to activate the carbon. The maximum surface area of activated carbon is 557.2 m²/g at 200 mL/min of flow rate, 50% of ZnCl₂, 800 °C, and 3 hr of activation time.

Comments

Master's thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Department of Chemistry at Sacred Heart University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science.

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