The Preparation of Activated Carbon from Coconut Shell Charcoal by Novel Mechano-Chemical Activation

Abstract

Activated carbon has been successfully prepared from coconut shell charcoal using novel dry mechano-chemical activation with KOH and planetary ball mill. The combination of chemical activation and mechanical activation on coconut shell charcoal is found to increase its micopore volume and surface size. These increase yielded to a high adsorption capacity which was measured at 298 K and 268 K found to be 0.6 wt. % for activated carbon. The adsorption experiments were conducted using constant-volume-variable-pressure (CVVP) test. Adsorption parameters were calculated using adsorption isotherm models: Langmuir and Dubini-Asthakov models and were found in good agreement for type II adsorption phenomenon. It is also found that the adsorption capacity of activated carbon was suitable for hydrogen storage application.