Effect of different activation agents on the pollution removal efficiency of date seed activated carbon: process optimization using response surface methodology

Abstract

Activated carbons are currently one of the most widely used materials for water and wastewater treatment because of their high specific surface area and moderate cost. This study is about the comparison of different activation methods on the pollution removal efficiency of date seed activated carbon using response surface methodology (RSM). The date seeds were carbonized in a muffle furnace at 300 °C for 1 h to produce carbon. Then, the chemical activation was carried out using 1 N solution of H3PO4, HNO3, H2SO4 separately for 24 h. Activated carbons were ground in a grinder to convert it to powder form, and after that, it was sieved using 75 microns sieve. Physical properties like pore size and surface area were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Pollution removal studies were carried using the Jar test, and the experiments were designed using RSM. The results show that the maximum COD reduction of 98.58% was obtained when H2SO4 was used as an activation agent. The results show that the carbon activated by H2SO4 shows the highest removal than its counterparts. The optimum dose was optimized using RSM and found to be 300 mg/l, and the optimum reaction time was 10 min. By this set of conditions, 96.3% of COD removal could be achieved. The results are confirmed by SEM studies, which show a high surface area, more pores, and the presence of a high amount of carbon in the AC prepared using H2SO4.