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A detailed study of pyrolysis conditions on the production of steam-activated carbon derived from oil-palm shell and its application in phenol adsorption

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Abstract

Oil-palm shell, a biomass waste from the palm oil industry, can be converted into commercially viable activated carbon through pyrolysis, followed by activation. A detailed systematic study of the pyrolysis conditions and initial shell particle size was conducted, and they were found to have significant effects on the pore characteristics of steam-activated carbons. The optimum pyrolysis conditions were (i) pyrolysis temperature of 750 °C, hold time of 2 h, heating rate of 10 °C/min, nitrogen flow rate of 150 cm3/min and particle size range of 2–2.8 mm for pyrolysis in nitrogen flow, and (ii) pyrolysis temperature of 675 °C, hold time of 2 h, heating rate of 10 °C/min and particle size range of 2–2.8 mm for pyrolysis under vacuum. Under nitrogen pyrolysis environment, the best activated carbon yielded the highest BET surface area of 794 m2/g and achieved the largest adsorption capacity of 129 mg of phenol per g of activated carbon. Under vacuum pyrolysis, the best activated carbon yielded the highest BET surface area of 988 m2/g and achieved the largest adsorption capacity of 168 mg of phenol per g of activated carbon which was respectively 24% and 30% greater than those for the activated carbon pyrolysed in nitrogen flow. Of all pyrolysis parameters studied—pyrolysis temperature, hold time, heating rate (low heating rate region), nitrogen flow rate, shell particle size and pyrolysis environment—the pore characteristics of the steam-activated carbons are strongly dependent on the pyrolysis temperature, hold time, pyrolysis environment and initial particle size.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr. Qipeng Jia for his assistance in the experimental work.

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  1. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, 639798, Republic of Singapore

    Aik Chong Lua

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  1. Aik Chong Lua
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Correspondence to Aik Chong Lua.

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Lua, A.C. A detailed study of pyrolysis conditions on the production of steam-activated carbon derived from oil-palm shell and its application in phenol adsorption. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 10, 523–533 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-019-00447-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-019-00447-9

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