ADSORPTION CHARACTERISTICS OF SUBMICRON POROUS CARBON PARTICLES PREPARED FROM RICE HUSK

This study aims to investigate adsorption properties of submicron porous carbon particles prepared from rice husk. In the experimental procedure, to produce porous carbon particles, the following steps were done: (1) washing rice husk, (2) burning rice husk through two stages of heating process at temperatures of 200 and 600 degrees C, (3) saw-milling process of the burned rice husk to obtain submicron sized carbon particles, and (4) porous structurization by dissolving the silica component from the saw-milled product using Sodium Hydroxide solution. Then, to analyze the adsorption properties, the prepared porous carbon particles were put into the curcumin solution under various conditions (i.e., initial amount of carbon, curcumin concentration, and adsorption time). Experimental results showed that although the prepared carbon particles were agglomerated, having sizes of about 800 nm, they were efficient for being used as an adsorbent. The analysis confirmed that the adsorption phenomena followed the Freundlich adsorption isotherm, describing the characteristics of multilayer and heterogeneous adsorption types. This is because of the existence of porous structure in the carbon adsorbent. This study demonstrates the importance of porous structures in the adsorption process, making the more adsorbate diffusion into the surface site and better adsorption efficiency.