Nanoporous Activated Carbon from Olive Stones Wastes

Activated carbon was prepared from stones of olive (Egazi olive cultivar sp.) using chemical and physical activation methods. Olive stones wastes (OSW) were first charred at 275 degrees C for different lengths of time (30 - 60 min) without or with different ratios of KOH, ZnCl2, or H3PO4 followed by activation at different temperatures (600, 700 and 800 degrees C) for different lengths of time. The effect of charring process on yield and iodine number (as a measure of surface area) of produced char was studied. The effect of the different parameters of the activation processes on yield, iodine number, and surface area was also studied. Microstructure of the obtained activated carbon was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Activated carbon with highly porous structure could be prepared using the different activation methods. The results showed chemical activation produced activated carbon with higher surface area than in case of using physical activation. Surface area values of 351, 464,740, and 993 m(2)/g were recorded for physically activated carbon, KOH-, H3PO4-, and ZnCl2-chemically activated carbon, respectively. Pore volume values were 0.28, 0.28, 0.4, and 0.61 cc/g for physically activated carbon, KOH-, H3PO4-, and ZnCl2- Chemically activated carbon, respectively, while average pore diameter values of 31.5, 24.1, 21.6, and 24.6. A degrees were recorded for physically activated carbon, KOH-, H3PO4-, and ZnCl2- chemically activated carbon, respectively.