Production Of Activated Carbon from Baobab Fruit (Adansonia Digitata L.) Shell

Abstract

Activated Carbon (AC) is an amorphous form of carbon that is specially treated to produce a highly developed internal pore structure and has a large surface area to volume ratio. As a result, it is an excellent adsorbent. This study aims to find the most suitable conditions to produce Activated Carbon from Baobab fruit shells by controlling temperature, size, duration of carbonization (time), activation solution. Since the shells of the baobab fruit was considered waste by consumers, it was reasonable to consider it as a great source for AC. Activated Carbon was successfully obtained from Baobab Shells with the highest yield percentage being 29.653% for the shells of group C ranging between 6 - 14 mm in equivalent diameter and at a carbonization temperature of 500℃ for 2 hours. HCl was found to be the most suitable activation solution for duration of exposure of 1 hour, Activated Carbon using HCl Methylene Blue adsorption percentage was 98.6%.