Preparation and Characterization of Impregnated Activated Carbon from Palm Kernel Shell and Coconut Shell for CO2 Capture

Activated carbon was produced from palm kernel shell (PKS) and coconut shell (CS) through physical steam activation and chemical activation. The optimum activation temperature for physical activation is 800oC and for chemical activation is 550oC. The activated carbons produced also loaded with different metal oxides (BaO, MgO, CuO, TiO2 and CeO2). Both loaded and unloaded activated carbons are characterized using ultimate analysis, BET surface area measurement method, fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The BET surface area and pore volumes showed that the activated carbons prepared from PKS by chemical activation (PCAC) and from CS by physical activation (CPAC) were found to be much higher than others activated carbons. Hence, the metal oxides were loaded on these two activated carbons. The loaded and unloaded activated carbons produced will be tested for application of CO2 adsorption from the simulated flue gas.