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.