Activated carbon from Candeia wood wastes: Production, characterization and evaluation of the adsorptive potential

Abstract

Large amount of waste of Candeia (Eremanthus erythropappus (DC.) Macleish) are generated by the extraction of essential oil (mainly α-bisabolol) from wood. Since these waste has a limited use, without noble application by the industry, we decided to produce activated carbons (ACs) from these. The wood waste were carbonized at 550 °C, then were activated using CO2 (g) under different temperatures and activation times. Activated carbons produced showed a BET area estimated between 303-1036 m2 g-1. The surface chemistry of the activated carbons were determined by Boehm titration, which indicated an increase of the number of the alkaline sites, if compared to carbonized material. Experimental data showed that the properties of the activated carbons depend on the variation of temperature and time activation. The adsorption tests of methylene blue and phenol were performed and adsorptions of 424 mg g-1 and 392 mg g-1 were respectively found.