Preparation of Activated Carbon from Holdfasts of Kelp, Large Brown Seaweed, Saccharina japonica

Abstract

Dried kelp is one of the most important Japanese foods mainly used as base ingredient. Holdfasts, or rhizoids, of kelp are usually discarded, as rocks, shells, ropes and other contaminants are entangled among them. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the preparation of activated carbon from holdfasts of Saccharina japonica, a popular kelp harvested in Japan, is possible by a chemical activation technique utilizing zinc chloride, and to study the influence of the process parameters, such as carbonization temperature and the composition of the activator. Under the examined experimental conditions, maximum specific surface area of 1.7 × 103 m2/g, larger than that of a commercial activated carbon, was observed at 600˚C and the zinc chloride composition of 75 mass%.