High grade activated carbon matting derived from the chemical activation and pyrolysis of natural fibre textile waste

Waste generated as a by-product of the production and use of natural fibres in the textile industry is typically over 50 wt.% and is normally landfilled. In this research, flax and hemp natural fibres have been manufactured into a non-woven, pre-formed matting material and subsequently treated via chemical activation and pyrolysis to produce activated carbon. The influence of chemical activation process conditions using zinc chloride and phosphoric acid and the subsequent pyrolysis process conditions were investigated. The results showed that an activated carbon matting with very high surface area of over 2000 m(2) g(-1) could be produced. The surface area was strongly influenced by the concentration of activating agent used and the subsequent pyrolysis temperature. Higher surface areas being associated with the higher concentrations of the activating agent and the lower temperatures of pyrolysis. Zinc chloride produced significantly higher surface areas of the activated carbon compared to phosphoric acid activation. The pore size distribution of the carbons could be altered depending on the process conditions used. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.