Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from rubber-seed shell by physical activation with steam

The use of rubber-seed shell as a raw material for the production of activated carbon with physical activation was investigated. The produced activated carbons were characterized by Nitrogen adsorption isotherms, Scanning electron microscope, Thermo-gravimetric and Differential scanning calorimetric in order to understand the rubber-seed shell activated carbon. The results showed that rubber-seed shell is a good precursor for activated carbon. The optimal activation condition is: temperature 880 degrees C, steam flow 6 kg h(-1), residence time 60 min. Characteristics of activated carbon with a high yield (30.5%) are: specific surface area (SBET) 948 m(2) g(-1), total volume 0.988 m(3) kg(-1), iodine number of adsorbent (cliodine) 1.326 g g(-1), amount of methylene blue adsorption of adsorbent (q(mb)) 265 mg g hardness 94.7%. It is demonstrated that rubber-seed shell is an attractive source of raw material for producing high capacity activated carbon by physical activation with steam. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.