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DOI: 10.4172/2157-7048.1000248
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Preparation of Activated Carbon from Green Coconut Shell and its

Characterization
Dipa Das1, Debi Prasad Samal1, Meikap BC1,2*
1
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, West Bengal, India
2
Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Howard College, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

Abstract
In this work activated carbon was prepared from green coconut shells by chemical activation method. It was then
characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR and TGA. Different physical properties such as bulk density, moisture content,
volatile matter content, ash content, and surface area and porosity were also determined. The activated carbon was
used as adsorbent for the removal of carbon dioxide from flue gas as well as various inorganic contaminants from
waste water. Removal efficiency of Methylene blue was studied by changing various parameters such as adsorbent
dosage and contact time. This study showed that for the removal of various pollutants from flue gas and waste water
treatment activated carbon can be used as a good adsorbent.

Keywords: Activated carbon; Adsorption; Methylene blue; XRD; of a porous structure is better than that of physical activation. For
FTIR; TGA preparation of AC, Zinc chloride is the most widely used chemical
studied by various authors [6,11,25-32]. In this study green coconut
Introduction shell has been chosen as raw material for preparation of AC because
it is considered superior to those obtained from other sources mainly
Adsorption has appeared as one of the promising methods for CO2
due to small macrospores structure which renders it more effective for
capture and sequestration due to its low energy consumption, cost-
the adsorption of gas/vapour and for the removal of colour and odour
effectiveness, relatively simple technological process, non-corrosive
of compounds. And it has high fixed carbon and low ash content. The
to the equipments and it is applicable over a relatively wide range of
adsorption behaviour of activated carbon is determined not only by
temperatures and pressures [1-3]. Development of new and high-
efficient solid adsorbents is crucial to enhance competitiveness of this their porous structures but also by the chemical nature of its surface.
process. Zeolites or activated carbons are good adsorbents that are Adsorption capacity is determined by porosity, and the functional
used for capturing CO2 from flue gas through physical adsorption [4], group present on the surface, is getting affected by polar and non-
due to its porous structure. The extensive use of activated carbon is polar structure of the adsorbate [33]. In adsorption process surface
used now days, due to its large micro porosity, large specific surface chemistry and porosity plays an important role, so activated carbons
area [5]. The activated carbon is seems to be black in color and are investigated by different characterization method. The objective of
have large micro porosity. Activated carbon adsorption also used this study was to prepare relatively well developed porosity activated
for treating low concentrations of wastewater streams at extremely carbons from green coconut shell by chemical activation methods.
low cost. The removal efficiency of Activated carbon is very high The adsorbents were characterized by using Scanning electronic
for harmful pollutants [3]. As environmental pollution is the major microscope (SEM), Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR),
problem now a day’s so need of activated carbon is growing day by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Accelerated surface area and porosimetry
day. Its texture characteristics and surface properties depend on the analyzer (ASAP2020). Also its performance for liquid adsorption
raw material and on the method used for its preparation [6]. For AC, capacity was tested by Methylene blue adsorption by using UV Spectro
the removal of moisture is not required and it is easy for regeneration photometer.
and has a high CO2 adsorption capacity at ambient pressure [7] and
also its good adsorption properties. Activated carbons can be prepared Materials and Methods
by either a physical method or chemical method [8]. It is produced Preparation of activated carbon
from a large number of carbonaceous raw materials like coal, lignite,
wood and some agricultural product like rice husk [9,10], nut shell Green Coconut Shells were collected from nearby Technology
[11], coconut shell [12,13], pea nut [14,15], sugarcane bagassage [16], market of IIT Kharagpur Campus and then cut into small pieces,
tamarind wood [17], saw dust [18] and industrial waste products. The
cost of Agricultural wastes are very low so it is considered to be a very
important feedstock for preparation of AC [19]. To prepare activated *Corresponding author: Meikap BC, Department of Chemical Engineering,
carbon from chemical activation, the steps are carbonization step and School of Engineering, Howard College, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban
4001, South Africa, Tel: 91-3222-283958; E-mail: [email protected]
activation step. Raw material is impregnated with an activating reagent
before carbonization step in chemical activation method. The effect of Received September 11, 2015; Accepted September 28, 2015; Published
September 30, 2015
different chemical reagents on the production and quality of activated
carbon was studied extensively by different researchers [20,21]. Citation: Das D, Samal DP, Meikap BC (2015) Preparation of Activated Carbon
Different chemicals are used like Zinc chloride (ZnCl2), phosphoric from Green Coconut Shell and its Characterization. J Chem Eng Process Technol
6: 248. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000248
acid (H3PO4), Sulphuric acid (H2SO4), potassium hydroxide (KOH),
sodium hydroxide (NaOH), and K2CO3[22-24]. Chemical activation Copyright: © 2015 Das D, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
is better than physical activation process because it generally takes use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
place at a lower temperature and shorter time and the development source are credited.

J Chem Eng Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7048 JCEPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 5 • 1000248
Citation: Das D, Samal DP, Meikap BC (2015) Preparation of Activated Carbon from Green Coconut Shell and its Characterization. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 248. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000248

Page 2 of 7

followed by washing with simple tap water for removal of dust adhere surface inorganic component of the prepared activated carbon. The
to it. Then it was dried in the sunlight for 15-20 days. Dried materials X-ray patterns were recorded under the scan rate of 0.1°C/min. The
were kept inside the furnace at 150°C for 24 hours for removal of surface organic functional groups and structure were studied by FTIR
moisture and other volatile impurities. After that it was crushed with spectroscopy (NEXUS 870). The FTIR spectra of activated carbon
a locally made crusher and sieved to 300-700 µm size range. Chemical and amine impregnate activated carbon were recorded between 400
Activation of the powdered precursor was done with ZnCl2 to make and 4000 cm-1. In the FT-IR analysis Solid powder sample was first
the Impregnation Ratio (Activating agent/Precursor) 100% (500 mixed with solid KBr in mortar pestle and a thin pellet is made using a
gm of dried precursor was well mixed with 3000 ml of concentrated hydraulic press. Such pellet can be placed in the IR beam for analysis.
solution of ZnCl2 that contains 500 gm of ZnCl2). The slurry form of
powder precursor was properly mixed and kept for 24 hours for proper Results and Discussion
soaking of ZnCl2 on its surface. The slurry was kept inside the oven at Proximate and ultimate analysis
100°C for 24 hours [34]. In this work we have used ZnCl2 because it
acts as dehydration reagent that lowers the carbonization temperature The results of proximate and ultimate analysis were shown in
during chemical activation and restricts the formation of tar as well as Tables 1 and 2. From this analysis it was observed that the fixed carbon
promotes charring of carbon [25,35] content of AC was very high as compared to raw precursor, which
results in better adsorbent for adsorption purpose. From the analyses it
The resulting chemical impregnated samples were kept inside the has been shown that the high volatile matter and low ash content of the
muffle furnace after putting inside galvanized iron pipe of dimensions precursor make it a good starting material for preparation of activated
(ID 3.7 cm, OD 4.4 cm, Length 24 cm). The material inside the furnace carbon [25]. The carbon content of AC increases with the increasing of
was heated at a heating rate of 10°C min-1 to the final carbonization activation temperature from 500 to 600°C due to an increasing degree
temperature of 650°C under the Nitrogen flow rate of 120 cm3 min-1 of aromaticity [36]. In activated carbon hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur
STP. The material was kept inside the furnace for 1 hr at 650°C. Then and oxygen contents have been decreased because during pyrolysis and
it was cooled under the constant flowing of Nitrogen Gas till it was activation process, the coconut shell has been decomposed. During
completely cooled. The dried material was washed with 0.5 N HCl the decomposition, the volatile compounds containing mainly H, O,
for 2-3 times and then washed with warm distilled water to remove and N leave the carbonaceous product and the coconut shell becomes
different residual organic and mineral matter. Then it was finally rich in carbon. Because ZnCl2 removed the H and O away from the
washed with cold water till the solution becomes neutral. Finally the green coconut shell as H2O and H2 instead of removal of CO, CO2 or
sample was dried for 24 hours at 100°C inside an oven and packed in an hydrocarbons [25,40]. From Table 2, it was observed that, the carbon
air tight container [36]. content of activated carbons has been risen to from 41.185% to 72.04
Characterization of activated carbon wt%; however, a decrease in the hydrogen and oxygen content from
9.416 to 2.963 wt%, and 10.024 to 0.046 wt% respectively.
Physical characterization: Bulk density of the prepared activated
carbon was done by water displacement method and was found to BET surface area and pore size distribution
be 2.1 gm/cc. Textural characteristics were determined by nitrogen
adsorption at 77.35 K with an automatic adsorption instruments Table 3 Shows the data related to total surface area, micropore
(ASAP 2010, Micromeritics) in this case the samples are out gassed volume and micropore surface area for activated carbon particle
at 300°C under the flow nitrogen for 6.5 hours before measurement. and raw precursor. Figure 1 gives the N2 adsorption isotherms at
The surface area of the activated carbon samples were calculated by -196°C of the activated carbon and raw precursor produced at the
Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) method in the relative pressure (P/ activation temperature of 650°C. Micropore plays an important role
for adsorption.
a -1Dw ( anac3 ofp,meritics) )0./Oat the hwas/R79 9 Tf 147 Tf2.1 gmculaN034.192 Nitrogen adsorption
34ufiacsPoy t4h5sorp. was more in the case of activated
carbon because of the presence of excess pores that developed during
activation and carbonization that of raw precursor. In the case of
activated carbon the small pore is called micropore and the external
surface areas consist of the mesopores and macropores [41]. Thus from

J Chem Eng Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7048 JCEPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 5 • 1000248
Citation: Das D, Samal DP, Meikap BC (2015) Preparation of Activated Carbon from Green Coconut Shell and its Characterization. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 248. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000248

Page 4 of 7

functional group present in the activated sample were as shown in the

table. The range 3500-3200 cm-1 indicates the presence of O-H stretch
bonded, alcohol, phenol functional group. 3300-2500 cm-1 shows
the presence of O-H stretch and carboxylic group. At 1320-1000 cm-
1
(strong) frequency shows C-O stretch and functional group presents
are alcohol, carboxylic acid, esters and ethers [45]. A band at 1400
cm-1 was only can be attributed to the plane N-H bending vibration
[46,47]. A band at 1100 cm-1 is attributed to C-O stretching vibration
in hydroxyl and phenol groups. Combination of bands at 1750 and
1100 cm-1 suggested that it is predominantly carboxylic groups. The
frequency range 1470-1450 cm-1 shows the presence of alkanes (C-H
bond). Other group’s presences were shown in the Table 4.
Scanning electron microscope studies
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron
microscope that images a sample by scanning it with a high-energy
beam of electrons in scan pattern. The electrons interact with the Figure 6: Pore width vs pore volume plot of Activated carbon.
atoms that make up the sample producing signals that contain
information about the sample's surface topography, composition, and
other properties such as electrical conductivity. SEM micrograph of
activated carbon produced at 650°C for 1 hr was depicted in Figures
6-10. Different pores were observed in activated carbon sample. Due
to carbonization and activation, volatiles are removed producing a
fixed carbon mass with widening of pore networks that are present in
activated carbon sample. The micropore presences contribute towards
gas adsorption [48].

Figure 7: TGA profile of AC; dTG (---), TG (-).

Figure 5: Pore size distribution plots of Activated carbon.

Wave number (cm-1) Bond Functional Groups

1100 C-H wag (CH2X) Alkyl halides
Alcohols, ethers, ester, carboxylic
1300-1400 C-O stretch
acid
1630 N-H bend 1o amine
Esters, carboxylic acids, aldehydes,
1750 C=O
carbonyl Figure 8: TGA profile of Raw sample; dTG (---), TG(-).
2800 H-C=O aldehydes
3230 ≡ C-H stretch Alkyne
X-Ray diffraction
O-H stretch, H
3400 Alcohols, phenols
bonded From the above graph we observed that for raw green coconut
Table 4: FT-IR peaks assignments of functional group on Activated carbon shell we obtain three sharp peaks at angle 25o, 40o, 50o respectively that
surface. revealed crystalline carbonaceous structure. The sharp peak is produced

J Chem Eng Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7048 JCEPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 5 • 1000248
Citation: Das D, Samal DP, Meikap BC (2015) Preparation of Activated Carbon from Green Coconut Shell and its Characterization. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 248. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000248

Page 5 of 7

Where Ci = Initial concentration of MB (mg/L), C°= Final

concentration of MB (mg/L)
Similarly the removal efficiency was calculated by taking constant
concentration of Methylene blue with different quantity of adsorbent
dosage. It was found from the Figures 11-14 that the percentage
removal of Methylene blue was increased by increasing adsorbent

Figure 9: FTIR spectra of Activated carbon.

Figure 11: XRD profile Activated carbon sample.

Figure 10: SEM micrograph Activated carbon.

due to better layer alignment which is the characteristic of a crystalline

structure. Absence of sharp peaks in activated carbon suggests it is
predominantly amorphous structure which is advantageous property Figure 12: XRD profile Activated carbon sample.
for well-defined adsorbents [49,50].
Methylene blue adsorption
Due to its strong adsorption onto solids, Methylene blue dye
serves as a model compound for adsorption of organic contaminant.
The methylene blue dye solution was prepared by 2 drops of MB in
100 ml of distilled water and was taken in conical flask. For batch
adsorption studies, One gram of activated carbon was added to a series
of conical flasks filled with MB solution. It was sealed properly and then
shaken in a thermal shaker at 30°C until equilibrium was reached. The
sample solution was then removed and analyzed with a UV-Visible
spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 660 nm [51]. A previously
established linear Beer–Lambert relationship was used for the
concentration determination. The Removal efficiency was determined
by eq.1 as shown below.
The efficiency of dye removal was calculated as
C − C0
Efficiency ( % ) = i 100 (1) Figure 13: Effect of adsorbent dosage on removal efficiency of MB.
Ci

J Chem Eng Process Technol

ISSN: 2157-7048 JCEPT, an open access journal Volume 6 • Issue 5 • 1000248
Citation: Das D, Samal DP, Meikap BC (2015) Preparation of Activated Carbon from Green Coconut Shell and its Characterization. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 248. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000248

Page 6 of 7

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Citation: Das D, Samal DP, Meikap BC (2015) Preparation of Activated Carbon from Green Coconut Shell and its Characterization. J Chem Eng
Process Technol 6: 248. doi:10.4172/2157-7048.1000248

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