Conversion of Sugarcane Bagasse into Biochar and Activated Carbon for Cr(VI) Removal

Sugarcane bagasse is the residue of sugar cane milling process. Its value can be optimized as an alternative technology for the manufacturing of activated carbon, which can be used as adsorbent to remove Cr(VI) from wastewater. This study aims to determine the effect of carbonization temperature on the characteristics of biochar bagasse as well as the effect of activation with KOH solution. Carbonization process carried out at 400, 450, 500, 550 and 600°C in a fixed-bed reactor and flowed by nitrogen gas (N2) at constant rate for 2 hours. Activated carbon is produced through the activation process of biochar obtained from bagasse carbonization process at 600°C, by soaking the biochar in 25 mL potassium hydroxide (KOH) 4 M solution at room temperature for 24 hours. The characteristics obtained show that higher the carbonization temperature could produce biochar with larger surface area and higher ash content. The activation process of biochar using KOH could produce activated carbon which has the largest surface area (1259.048 m2/g) and could reduce the ash content. The surface area of the adsorbent has effect on its ability of Cr(VI) adsorption from the solution.