Cerium removal by activated carbon derived from palm kernel shell

¹School of Materials & Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Transkrian Engineering Campus, Nibong Tebal, Penang, 14300 Malaysia

²Division of Sustainable Resources Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0828, Japan

Adv. Mater. Lett., 2017, 8 (2), pp 145-149

DOI: 10.5185/amlett.2017.7061

Publication Date (Web): Dec 27, 2016

Copyright © IAAM-VBRI Press

E-mail: feiyee@usm.my, yeoh.usm@gmail.com

Abstract

Palm kernel shell (PKS) was utilized as a precursor for the preparation of activated carbon (AC) via different carbonization temperatures and carbon dioxide gas activation processes. The physical and chemical properties of the AC samples were studied by TGA, nitrogen adsorption analysis and SEM. The results show that the AC sample with BET surface area up to 622 m² g^-1 and total pore volume of 0.297 cm³ g^-1 with narrow pore size of 1.2 nm were obtained. The SEM shows that more pores were revealed on the surface of AC after the carbonization and activation processes. The AC samples carbonized at 500 and 600 °C (CA-500 and CA-600) exhibited higher Ce removal percentage (99.94 %) than that of the other samples. Higher BET surface area of the CA-500 and CA-600 samples resulted in slightly more Ce ions to be adsorbed and precipitated compared to that of other samples. The result indicates that high pH value and BET surface area of AC sample has a rather strong influence on Ce removal. AC samples show excellent Ce removal capacity, thereby; the results suggest that the PKS-based AC could be a promising adsorbent for the cerium removal application.

Keywords

Palm kernel shell, activated carbon, BET surface area, pore size distribution, cerium removal.