Authors : Souad Najar-Souissi, Wafa Saadi, Manel Zarroug and Abdelmottaleb Ouederni
Abstract: Pomegranate peels, a by-product of agriculture are transformed by chemical activation with phosphoric acid into activated carbon. The raw material is impregnated with a H3PO4 solution with different ratios and impregnation time. The impregnated precursor is activated at different temperatures and times. The specific surface area was determined for all samples. The optimum activated carbon obtained is mainly microporous. Its BET specific surface area is approximately 1600 m2/g and its pore volume is 1.118 cm3/g which about 90% is micropores. The average pore diameter is about 3 nm. Boehm titration and IR spectroscopy show the presence of oxygen functions on the surface, essentially acidic. The adsorbent capacity of this carbon is tested using three model molecules phenol, nitrophenol and methylene blue. The adsorption isotherms of the three molecules follow well the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacities obtained are 119, 286 and 588 mg/g for phenol, nitrophenol and methylene blue, respectively. The optimum carbon, thus, obtained has interesting characteristics comparable to others carbons derived from lignocellulosics materials and commercial activated carbons. It can serve as a very good adsorbent in the aqueous phase, especially, for the removal of cationic dyes.
Souad Najar-Souissi, Wafa Saadi, Manel Zarroug and Abdelmottaleb Ouederni, 2019. Pomegranate Peels Activated Carbon by Phosphoric Acid Activation: Preparation, Characterization and Evaluation of Adsorptive Properties. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 14: 6731-6741.