Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Rubber Seed Shell via Chemical Activation Using Phosphoric Acid

Activated carbons are widely used as adsorbents. This research presents on the preparation and characterization of activated carbon from rubber seed shell by chemical activation with impregnation of phosphoric acid, H3PO4 as the chemical activating agent. This project revolved on finding the most optimum parameters for preparation and characterization of activated carbon from rubber seed shell by manipulating different parameters like raw material size, impregnation ratio, activation temperature and activation time of the activation process. The potential of activated carbon produced in adsorption is evaluated by removing oil and grease from the waste water sample. The preparation of the activated carbon varies by two different sizes of 1mm and 500 μm, by using two impregnation ratio (1:1 and 1:2). The samples were set under nitrogen gas flow for various temperature of 400°C, 500°C and 600°C for carbonization process with two activation time (30 minutes and 90 minutes). The BET surface area of activated carbon corresponding to an impregnation ratio of 1:2 is found to be 8.2310m2g-1 with total pore volume of 0.07918 cm3 g-1 and average pore diameter 5.5418nm by using Micrometrics ASAP 2020, whilst the morphological structures were characterized by using Variable Pressure Field Emission Scanning Electron Spectroscopy (VPFESEM). The optimum condition for the preparation condition is at 500°C activation temperature in 90minutes.The adsorption behavior was described by Nitrogen adsorption-desorption reveal that the pore size widely distributed with the contribution of mesopores. It was found that 84 % of oil and grease successfully removed in the adsorption test. This proved that activated carbon prepared from rubber seed shell, an agricultural waste, can be effectively used as adsorbent for the removal of oil and grease from waste water sample.