Adsorption of VOC on steam activated carbon derived from coconut shell charcoal

Abstract

The activated carbon AC1, AC2 and AC3 are produced from the coconut shell charcoal with different levels of activation by steam and temperatures of 800°C, 850°C and 900°C. The AC3 activated at 900°C show about 50 m²/g of higher surface area than AC1 and AC2 which are activated at 800°C and 850°C, respectively. The maximum BET surface area and iodine sorption on AC3 are found to be 1262 m²/g and 1194 mg/g respectively. Adsorption capacity of all the three activated carbon has been examined with volatile organic pollutants, carbon tetrachloride, benzene, ether and n-pentane. The order of adsorption is CTC > benzene > ether > n-pentane. An empirical relationship between VOC and iodine number is obtained for the activated carbon samples. This clearly shows that the adsorption capacity depends on the attractive forces between the AC and nature of pollutant. Kinetic data reveals the uniform distribution of pores in all the activated carbon irrespective of the activation temperature.