Production of Microwave Induced Activated Carbon and Its Application to Remove Phenol from Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) is an amorphous carbonaceous material which possesses highly developed pore structure. In this study production of activated carbon from a household waste is carried out by microwave activation. Brewed tea waste was used in order to produce AC by microwave-induced activation process using potassium carbonate as chemical activating agent. To reveal the effectiveness of the produced carbon, liquid phase adsorptive properties of phenol were evaluated.

Adsorption isotherm fittings revealed that Freundlich model was applicable for the produced activated carbon. Kinetic studies exhibited that pseudo-second-order model fitted well with the obtained data. The thermodynamics parameters were also evaluated to conclude the feasibility of the removal process. All in all activated carbon produced by microwave induced chemical activation was found to be both effective and economically viable.