Activated carbon production from Euphorbia rigida: The effect of activation method on micro porous structure

In this study, producing activated carbon from Euphorbia rigida (spurge), a major energy plant which grows abundantly in arid lands, via pyrolysis was investigated. Experiments carried out in a fixed bed reactor yielded 22,6%, 23,1%, 17,5% solid product and 22,5%, 23,2%, 28,6% bio-oil for static, nitrogen and steam atmospheres. Maximum yield for liquid product was attained in water vapor atmosphere and its characterization was studied. Solid product obtained under static atmosphere was impregnated with three types of chemicals; HCl as an acid, KOH as a base and K2CO3 as a salt, by using different impregnation ratios. Proximate and ultimate analysis, FT-IR, SEM, EDX, XRD, surface area, iodine number and Boehm titration analyses were applied to solid product and activated carbons for characterisation. Maximum surface area (1079m2/g) was attained with 100% impregnation ratio of K2CO3 and this activated carbon was used for adsorption of zinc and nickel ions from aqueous solutions. Adsorption data was then analysed for their relevancy to Langmuir, Freundlich, D-R and Temkin models.