Potassium hydroxide activation of activated carbon: A commentary

Abstract

Over the years, the furnace has been used as a common heating method to manufacture activated carbon. In a furnace, heat is transferred through conduction and convection. The outer surface of the sample is in contact with the generated heat, which slowly diffuses inwards as a result of the thermal gradient between the surface and the core of the material’s particles. Another method of heating employs microwave irradiation. Even though it is less energy- and time-consuming, the microwave method has several critical issues with respect to temperature control and thermal runaway, especially in the scaling-up of the microwave heating process [1].