Active carbons prepared by chemical activation of plum stones and their application in removal of NO2

A technology of obtaining active carbon from plum stones by chemical activation with KOH is described. The effect of carbonisation temperature as well as activation procedure on the textural parameters, acid-base character of the surface and sorption properties of active carbons has been checked. The sorption properties of the activated carbons obtained were characterised by determination of nitrogen dioxide adsorption in dry and wet conditions. The final products were microporous activated carbons of well-developed surface area varying from 2174 to 3228 m(2)/g and pore volume from 1.09 to 1.61 cm(3)/g, showing different acid-base character of the surface. The results obtained in our study have proved that a suitable choice of the carbonisation and activation procedure for plum stones can produce activated carbons with high capacity of nitrogen dioxide, reaching to 67 and 42 mg NO2/g in dry and wet conditions, respectively. The results of our study have also shown that the adsorption ability of carbonaceous sorbents depends both on the method of preparation as well as on the textural parameters and acid-base properties of their surface. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.