Mesoporous activated carbon from wood sawdust by K2CO3 activation using microwave heating

► Highlight the renewable use of wood sawdust. ► Evaluate the effects of impregnation ratio, microwave power and radiation time. ► Short activation time of 6 min and low chemical impregnation ratio of 1.25. ► High BET and Langmuir surface area of 1496.05 and 2245.53 m2/g. ► Monolayer adsorption capacity of 423.17 mg/g and carbon yield of 80.75%.