Quality of Microporous Activated Charcoal from Coconut Shell Waste in Industrial Scale

Abstract

Due to its diverse applications in the adsorption process, the activated charcoal encourages the manufacturing technology to produce highquality products. In present study, an industrial-scale activated charcoal was prepared in activated charcoal manufacturing companies using coconut shells waste as raw material. The process of making activated charcoal begins with preparation, carbonization and activation of charcoal into activated charcoal using the addition of steam as an activator. The resulting activated charcoal products meet the quality requirements of the Indonesian National Standard (SNI). The best-activated charcoal product from PT Nui Hia Prima produces iodine adsorption reaching 876.2 mg/g with the surface area of 504.306 m2/g and a total pore volume of 0.298 cm3/g. After some treatment with steam addition, the best product resulting in iodine and methylene blue adsorption are 973.9 mg/g and 121.25 mg/g, respectively. The development of the activated charcoal products expected to adjust with a technology that is more capable of producing better quality activated charcoal.