Characterization and property evaluation of low-cost electrically conductive bamboo charcoal from Dendrocalamus sericeus Munro.

Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sericeus Munro) is fast-growth plant with abundant biomass for conversion to fuel and various uses, including insulation and electronic applications. Bamboo charcoal produced in a low-cost furnace was separated into bamboo coal with electrical conductivity (bamboo coal 1) and without electrical con-ductivity (bamboo coal 2), subjected to proximate analysis and evaluation of adsorption and fuel properties. In addition, structural properties were studied based on surface area analysis using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) methods, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Of the two bamboo coal types, bamboo coal 1 with electrical conductivity had better adsorptive properties, such as a greater iodine number value (240 mg g-1), while the BET and the BJH methods showed that the surface area was 36.653 m² g-1 with a pore volume of 0.052 cm3 g-1 and a pore size of 15.292 Å. In addition, it was better for use as a deodorant and as a solid fuel for cooking with a longer total burning time (81 min). Bamboo coal 2 had lower moisture (5.75%), and ash (6.56%) contents, with a higher heating value (6913 kcal kg-1), indicating that bamboo coal 2 was good for deodorant usage and could have potential for development as an insulator with a hydrophobic and fire-retardant coating material. Bamboo coal 1 had a graphite crystalline structure and could have potential with additional further graphene development for electronic uses.