The Impact of Activation Heating Rate on Pore Structure in Teak Sawdust-Derived Activated Carbon and Its Application in Methylene Blue Adsorption

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) is a multifunctional adsorbent with a high adsorption capacity because of its pore structure comprising a large pore volume and surface area. However, its pore structure properties are largely influenced by the chemical composition and manufacturing conditions of the raw material. This study examined the effect of activation heating rate parameter on pore structure and methylene blue adsorption in teak sawdust AC. The adsorbent was dehydrated, carbonized and activated at 105, 750 and 700 °C for 2 h, 50 min, and 6 to 14 °C/min, with a nitrogen flow rate of 200 mL/min for 50 min. Several characterizations were carried out to identify pore structure, proximate substance, functional groups, surface morphology, and methylene blue-adsorption capacity of AC. The results showed that activation heating rate with the best properties and capacity of MB adsorption were adsorbed at a peak of 10 °C/min. AC obtained has a C-C aromatic rings functional group, an amorphous crystal structure, an interplanar length of 3.03 Å, 75.74 % fixed carbon, pore surface area of 126.279 m2/g, pore volume of 0.235 cc/g, and a multimodal micropore-mesopore size distribution. This is in addition to adsorption capability of 13.48 mg/g for methylene blue.