Potential of Carica Papaya Stem Activated Carbon in Removal of Undesired Compounds from Metakaolin

Abstract

Metakaolin (MK) is a pozzolan exhibiting additional cementitious tendency and is made by dehydroxylating Kaolin Clay (KC). In this study,potential of Carica papaya Stem Activated Carbon (CPSAC) in removal of undesired compounds or impurities from MK was examined.Carica papaya Stem (CPS) was processed into powder and chemically activated using hydrochloric (HCl) acid, while MK was produced from KC through calcination process.Five conical flasks contained 5 to 25 % CPSAC at 5 % weight intervals. Two hundredg of MK or KC was added and well mixed to achieve homogeneity.The KC+CPSAC samples were subjected to calcination inside a muffle furnace at 700 °C and removed after 1 to 2 h then allowed to cool; while the MK+CPSAC samples were soaked in water (125 mL for each sample) for 24 h, thereafter oven-dried at 105 °C. Subsequently, the samples obtained were subjected to Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis to investigate their surface morphology, while X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) techniques were employed to ascertain their chemical and mineralogical compositions, respectively.The data obtained from chemical composition analyses were thereafter subjected to optimization studies.The SEM plates showed thatthe sizes of all thesamples were within ranges of 2 and 50 nm, and their intensity pinnacles from XRD plots ranged between 200 and 4000 cps. CPSAC (21.42%) eliminated the unwanted compounds in the MK andincreasethe amount of its major oxides (Al2O3, CaO, SiO2 and Fe2O3by 43.76,16.89, 12.76, 6.51 %, respectively). In conclusion, CPSAC showed potential as a viable industrial treatment material for MK. HIGHLIGHTS Remediation of unwanted compounds from MK CPSAC’s efficacies in soil (MK) remediation Treatment effects of calcination process and agricultural adsorbent on MK Optimization studies of MK compounds GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT