Conversion of almond shell to activated carbons: Methodical study of the chemical activation based on an experimental design and relationship with their characteristics

► “Activated carbon” and “Chemical activation”: First study in the literature on optimization of the production of activated carbon from almond shell. ► “Response surface”: Three variables of preparation of activated carbons studied and optimized simultaneously. ► “Porosity” and “Functional Groups”: A compromise between surface area and porosity is found in a range of preparation conditions.