Carbonaceous materials prepared from palm shells for the adsorption of co2. Elemental, proximal, and morphological characterization

Abstract

In the present investigation, porous solids type activated carbon (CA) were prepared from the chemical activation of the African palm shells from the crops of the Guajira region, Colombia, with solutions of Fe(NO3)3 and Cu(NO3)2 with change in concentration at two different temperatures: 973 and 1073 K. The prepared adsorbent solids were characterized to determine their physicochemical properties and CO2 adsorption capacities. The CAs obtained present micro-mesoporosity with surface areas between 5 and 1300 m2g-1. The values with respect to the fixed carbon content are between 47.1% and 78.4%; the results show that the activation process has effects on the textural parameters, elemental and proximal composition of the solids obtained. The morphological characterization of the surface of the materials was also carried out with SEM, evidencing the formation of greater roughness in the samples activated at 1073 K, specifically, the activated carbons with cupric nitrate; furthermore, the presence of some elements was quantified by EDX. The values obtained from the adsorption of CO2 at low pressures are between 80 and 250 mg·g-1, showing a greater affinity towards adsorbent solids (MCu3 and MFe5).