Thermal analysis as a method for evaluating the quality of regeneration of activated carbon used for purification of glycerin

Abstract

In this work, we investigated granular and powder activated carbons (AC) – initial and waste with adsorbed impurities after purification of technical glycerin and subsequent washing with water. The aim of this work was to quantify the adsorbed impurities in the spent AC using thermal analysis (TA) and to work out the conditions for thermal regeneration of AC. TA of AC samples was carried out in an atmosphere of helium and air; the specific surface area of AC was measured by the method of low-temperature desorption of argon (SAr). It was established by the TA method that water is released in the temperature range of 20 – 170 °C, and glycerin – 170 – 400 °C. Spent AC contains up to 22.8 wt. % H2O and up to 44.6 wt. % C3H5(OH)3. Based on these data, it was proposed to regenerate spent coal by heating at 400 °C in air. In the case of a granular AC sample, the regeneration proceeds completely, while for a powder AC sample, the specific surface area with respect to argon is restored only by 22 %, from the initial 2170 m2/g. The adsorption isotherms of methylene blue (MB) of the initial samples are located higher than for the spent ones, since in the spent ones part of the surface is occupied by adsorbed glycerin. The SMB values calculated from the adsorption of methylene blue in the spent AC samples are strongly overestimated in comparison with SAr. Probably, MB displaces glycerin from the surface or interacts with it to form complexes.