Date seeds biomass-derived activated carbon for efficient removal of NaCl from saline solution

The production of bio-char from agricultural waste is gaining greater attention for potential applications in energy and environment. In this work, the pyrolysis technique was used for the production of biochar from date seed biomass. Further, the obtained bio-char was converted into porous activated carbon (DSAC) and the porosity was controlled by different KOH dosage. Key analytical instruments were used to investigate the physicochemical properties of the DSAC. Moreover, the electrochemical analysis of DSAC-1:1.5 sample showed a higher specific capacitance of 400 F/g at 10 mV/s with lower internal resistance and good stability. Importantly, high-performance capacitive deionization (CDI) electrodes were developed from DSAC-1:1.5 sample for desalting NaCl from saline solution. Presented CDI device showed a stable and reversible saltinsertion/de-insertion capacity of 22.5 mg g(-1) at 1.2 V. This state-of-the-art DSAC-1:1.5 based CDI electrode largely surpasses common activated carbon and metal oxides nanocomposites. This present investigation demonstrates that the DSAC-1:1.5 is a feasible high-performance CDI electrode material for desalination applications. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers.