Thesis Abstract

Abstract
Activated carbon is a widely used adsorbent material due to its high surface area and porosity, making it effective in various applications such as water treatment, air purification, and chemical purification processes. This study aims to compare the properties of activated carbon synthesized from corn cob using two different methods chemical activation and microwave activation. The chemical activation method involves the impregnation of corn cob with a chemical agent such as phosphoric acid followed by carbonization, while the microwave activation method utilizes microwave radiation to heat the carbon precursor and activate it. The synthesized activated carbons were characterized using various analytical techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results revealed that both chemical and microwave synthesized activated carbons exhibited high surface areas, with the microwave activated carbon showing slightly higher values. The SEM images indicated that the microwave activated carbon had a more porous structure compared to the chemical activated carbon. The FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of functional groups such as hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl groups on the surface of the activated carbons, which are important for adsorption processes. The XRD analysis showed that the activated carbons had amorphous structures with no well-defined peaks, indicating the disordered nature of the materials. The adsorption performance of the activated carbons was evaluated by testing their ability to remove methylene blue dye from aqueous solutions. The results showed that both chemical and microwave synthesized activated carbons exhibited high adsorption capacities, with the microwave activated carbon demonstrating slightly better performance due to its higher surface area and porosity. Overall, this study highlights the effectiveness of both chemical and microwave synthesis methods for producing activated carbon from corn cob. While both methods resulted in high-quality activated carbons with excellent adsorption properties, the microwave activation method showed a slight advantage in terms of surface area and adsorption performance. These findings contribute to the growing body of research on sustainable and cost-effective methods for producing activated carbon from agricultural waste materials.

Thesis Overview

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Activated carbon, also widely known as activated charcoal or activated coal is a form of carbon which has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions (Mattson et al., 1971). The word active is sometimes used in place of activated. It is characterized by high degree of micro porosity. A gram of activated carbon can have a surface area in excess of 500 m2. Sufficient activation for useful applications may come solely from the high surface area, though further chemical treatment generally enhances the adsorbing properties of the material. Activated carbon is most commonly derived from charcoal.

Waste biomass is getting increasing attention all over the world for activated carbon development as it is renewable, widely available, cheap and environmentally friendly resource. The common method of development is thermochemical (Kumar et al., 2005). The main concern is the removal of chemical component by adsorption from the liquid or gas phase (Bansal et al.,1988).