Adsorption behaviour of high performance activated carbon from demineralised low rank coal (Rawdon) for methylene blue and phenol

Activated carbon (AC) was prepared from low rank Rawdon coal by chemical activation. The raw and demineralised coals were employed to produce ACs. The effects of demineralisation on the adsorption capacities of the ACs were determined, using common water pollutants, methylene blue (MB) and phenol as adsorbates. The BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) surface area of the AC obtained from the demineralised sample (1869 m(2) g(-1)) was found to be much higher than those obtained from the raw coal (1059 m(2) g(-1)). Pre-carbonisation also caused an increase in the surface areas of the samples. The adsorption tests were evaluated using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. The ACs were characterised in terms of total surface area, pore and particle size distributions, FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) analyses. The surface area of the AC produced from the demineralised and pre-carbonised sample was determined as 1951 m(2) g(-1). The adsorption capacity of the same AC reached the highest values for MB (841.93 mg g(-1)) and phenol (549.6 mg g(-1)). The activated carbon produced in the research is an excellent adsorbent compared to other ACs reported in the literature.

Automated summary

The study focused on preparing activated carbon from low rank Rawdon coal using chemical activation, and investigated the effects of demineralisation on the adsorption capacities of the activated carbons. The results showed that activated carbons produced from demineralised and pre-carbonised samples had higher surface areas and better adsorption capacities than those from raw coal.