Preparation of magnesium oxide confined in activated carbon synthesized from palm kernel shell and its application for hydrogen sulfide removal

Abstract

Abstract In this study, magnesium oxide (MgO) confined in porous carbon was synthesized and the efficacy of this material was analyzed for hydrogen sulfide removal. The palm kernel shell was carbonated to obtain the porous carbon material (labelled as AC-TKS). The confinement of magnesium oxide was carried out by the incipient wetness impregnation process of a metal oxide precursor followed by calcination. The MgO content in porous carbon was optimized to maintain a 5 wt. % total content of oxide (MgO-5%/AC-TKS). Materials were characterized using N2-sorption analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy-EDX (SEM-EDX). AC-TKS has a high specific surface area (SSA) of 708 m2/g. Meanwhile, the specific surface area decreased by up to 50% (ca. 248 m2/g) for MgO-5%/AC-TKS caused by the blocking of the MgO content. The successful confinement process was proven by X-ray diffraction analysis which revealed that MgO was formed by the appearance of MgO peaks. This is supported by the results of SEM-EDX mapping, which showed the presence of Mg and O elements on the carbon surface. The higher H2S removal was shown by MgO-5%/AC-TKS which could reduce H2S up to 98.6% and showed a better performance compared to only porous carbon.