Effect of Carbonization Temperature Variations and Activator Agent Types on Activated Carbon Characteristics of Sengon Wood Waste (Paraserianthes falcataria (L.) Nielsen)

Abstract

The need for Sengon wood is increasing every year. The waste produced by Sengon wood is also high. Sengon wood waste contains lignin by 26.50%. This high lignin content makes Sengon wood waste very potential to be used as activated carbon. Activated carbon is a porous solid containing 85 - 95% carbon. Activated carbon is produced from carbon-containing materials with high temperature heating. The process of making activated carbon consists of dehydration, carbonization, and activation. Chemical activation is carried out using certain chemicals to be mixed with carbon. The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of carbonization temperature on the quality and characteristics of activated carbon from Sengon wood. The temperatures used are 400, 500 and 600 °C and the types of activator agents used are ZnCl2, CaCl2, and CH3COOH. Tests carried out are water content testing, iodine absorption test and surface area calculation. In this study, the results of carbonization temperature were obtained and the type of activator agent significantly affected the character of the activated carbon produced. The best results are shown by carbon with a carbonization temperature of 600 °C with CaCl2 activator agent which is a water content of 1.46%, iodine absorption of 1089.5598 mg/g and a surface area of 1201.5688 m2/g.