Produção de carvão ativado a partir do pecíolo do babaçu

Abstract

The present study we used the palm leaf petiole Babaçu as an alternative raw material, low-cost, renewable, abundantly found, once it is naturally discarded in the nature, for production of microporous activated carbon. The activated carbons were produced from chemical activation using potassium hydroxide as activating agent. The characterization was carried out by simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) to study the thermal stability of the material and determine the ash content. The metal oxides present in the ashes of the activated carbon samples and in the raw material in nature were determined in an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. The surface area and pore size distribution were evaluated using the isotherms of adsorption and desorption of nitrogen gas at 196,15 ºC, with surface areas established between 718 and 1712 m2 g-1, while the main morphological changes of the material surface were elucidated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the main surface groups were determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The activated carbons adsorption capacity was determined using cationic dyemethylene blue with maximum wavelength of 664 nm in the UV-Vis. The results obtained for the activated carbons were satisfactory, showing their excellent adsorption capacity of cationic dyes dissolved in aqueous solution, and potential use as adsorbent material for removal of gaseous pollutants due to their microporous structure.