Novel activation process for preparing highly microporous and mesoporous activated carbons

An improved ZnCl2-chemical activation method is proposed to produce highly porous activated carbons. The novel process can produce either microporous carbons or mesoporous carbons from lignocellulosic materials. such as coconut shells and palm seeds. The porosity of the resultant activated carbons was characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms at 77 K. The BET-surface area of the carbons can be over 2400 m(2)/g; the mesopore content (ratio of mesopore volume to total pore volume) is 71%. Furthermore, the activated carbon from palm seeds possesses mesopore content as high as 94%. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to monitor the course of pyrolysis of coconut shell and ZnCl2-impregnated coconut shell. The adsorptive properties for phenol and dyes were tested. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.