Authors
Abstract
In this work activated carbon (AC) was successfully prepared from local
raw material namely Iraqi Reed .This source is cheap and available and in this
work AC is prepared from it for the first time. A chemical method using zinc
chloride was used in the activation process. The proper carbonization temperature
was found to be 450 oC and the time required for carbonization was one hour. The
adsorption capacity for acetone of the prepared AC was measured and found to be
15.6%. Some important properties were also studied such as: apparent density
(0.451 g/cm3), ash content (9.4%), moisture content (4.8%). The x- ray
diffraction also showed that AC exhibited a poorly crystalline structure, with a
little amount of silica and graphite.
Decolorization capacity (DC %) of AC on: (a) Caramel dye solution (b) Potassium
permanganate solution, were studied. The effect of quantity Of AC and contact
time was investigated using UV- spectrophotometer. It was found that
decolorization capacity DC% of KMnO4 solution (93%) and it was better adsorbed
within one hour, while DC% of caramel dye solution was (87%) and it was a better
adsorbent for the color within two hours. It is concluded that AC prepared in this
work has a good specification compared with standard sample thus it is suitable for
industrial uses.
Keywords
)
