Recovery of Aluminum and Preparation of Porous Carbon from Tetra Pak Waste

Pyrolysis of paper and polyethylene in Tetra Pak waste occurred at 368 and 490 degrees C, respectively, while aluminum did not melted until the temperature reached 660 degrees C, thus aluminum and char can be obtained by carbonization of Tetra Pak waste at 550 degrees C. Pyrolytic char was processed into porous carbons by different methods. Specific surface area of the porous carbon prepared by carbonization of acid-washed char at 850 degrees C achieved 741 m(2) g(-1), and the specific surface area of the porous carbon prepared from char by successively carbonization at 850 degrees C and acid-washing was 732 m(2) g(-1). The developed porous structure was formed due to the polymerization of char above 650 degrees C, while the etching of char by CO2 generated via decomposition of inherent calcite led to a lower microporosity. Methylene blue adsorption capacity of the optimized sample reached 140 mg g(-1), and the equilibrium data followed Langmuir model.

Automated summary

The study showed that aluminum and char can be obtained from Tetra Pak waste at 550 degrees Celsius. Porous carbons were produced by processing pyrolytic char through different methods, with the highest specific surface area achieved by carbonization of acid-washed char. The development of porous structure was attributed to char polymerization above 650 degrees Celsius, while lower microporosity was a result of char etching by CO2 generated from decomposition of inherent calcite.