Characterisation of activated charcoal, sawdust charcoal and rice husk charcoal as adsorbents in water treatment

Abstract

This study is an investigation into the characterization of commercial activated charcoal, sawdust charcoal and rice husk charcoal as adsorbents for water treatment. The ground rice husk and waste sawdust collected, were sieved to obtain a nominal size of 1mm, washed and oven-dried for 12hours. The two materials were pyrolysized in a furnace for 30minutes, and the chars produced were later air-dried. The three charcoals (sawdust charcoal, rice husk charcoal, and the activated charcoal purchased from the market) were all subjected to X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis in order to characterize the filter materials. The SEM analysis showed that the three materials developed more pores, which is a property of an adsorbent. Likewise, the XRF and EDX analyses confirm that all the three adsorbents possess larger proportion of Silica, Carbon and Oxygen.