Chemical activation of Quercus agrifolia char using KOH: Evidence of cyanide presence

Activation of Quercus agrifolia char with KOH using a rotary batch reactor is presented in this work. Several samples of activated carbon showing a very high degree of activation (up to 3081 m2/g) with predominance of microporosity were obtained. Nitrogen and argon were used as gaseous media in the activation procedure. Samples were evaluated using nitrogen adsorption applying BET and DR equation for porosity assessment. The existence of CN− in activated samples indicates the occurrence of not previously reported chemical reactions in this process. According to this result, both structural and gaseous nitrogen would play an active role in the chemical reaction. Following these results, a reaction mechanism for KOH-C-N2 system is proposed.