Roles of Impregnation Ratio of K2CO3 and NaOH in Chemical Activation of Palm Kernel Shell

Abstract

The present work was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two activating agents, namely potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in the chemical activation of palm kernel shell (PKS). The adsorbents were prepared by dried impregnation at different solid mass ratios of activating agent to precursor, followed by thermal treatment at 500°C for 2 h. The adsorbents were characterized for specific surface area, carbon content, ash content and surface functional groups. Results show that the specific surface of K2CO3-activated samples are in the range of 5.3 to 53 m2/g, while that of NaOH-activated samples are between 145 and 458 m2/g. The removal of methylene blue is in accordance with the development of surface area of adsorbents, with the maximum capacity between 7.8 and 69 mg/g, and fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm. The findings conclude that, under the thermal conditions studied, NaOH is better than K2CO3 in the chemical activation of PKS.