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BACKGROUND: Over the years, activated carbon has been widely used for environmental applications, including liquid or gas phase applications. However, there are many hurdles for researchers in the activated carbon field to overcome when it comes to non‐renewable materials, the utilization of individual precursors, and the complex multistep procedures of activated carbon synthesis. Therefore, in this study, the facile mechanochemical potassium carbonate (K2CO3) activation of blended precursors — palm kernel shell and petroleum coke — was investigated in terms of the activated carbon yield and carbon dioxide (CO2) adsorption capacity. RESULTS: The optimum configuration of the activated carbon production was found at temperature of 680°C, holding time of 60 min, and impregnation ratio of 1.75:1. The CO2 adsorption data at 25–120°C was best represented by the Sips model with R2 > 0.9999, where maximum CO2 adsorption capacity (qmax) was within the range of 2.24–4.32 mmol/g. The kinetic analysis was well‐represented by the pseudo‐second order model due to the high R2 and low sum of square of errors (ERRSQ) value. In terms of thermodynamic analysis, it showed that the CO2 adsorption process was physical, exothermic, and spontaneous at lower temperature. CONCLUSION: Overall, the integration of agricultural and industrial waste to value‐added activated carbon was feasible not only in reducing waste disposal problems but also in facilitating CO2 mitigation. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentration in atmosphere brings in major concern nowadays. Accordingly, a study on the volumetric CO 2 adsorption by using the palm kernel shell-based activated carbon synthesized via direct activation at 850 °C for 1 h has been investigated. The adsorbents are characterized using various analytical techniques to analyze the elemental, surface, and textural characteristics. Referring to the physiochemical analysis, it verifies that the proposed activation method effectively converts the palm kernel shell to value-added activated carbon material. The synthesized palm kernel shell-based activated carbon shows comparable CO 2 adsorption capacity and CO 2 /nitrogen selectivity with the commercial grade activated carbon. The regeneration study that has been carried out via pressure swing indicates easy regenerability and good stability after the multiple adsorption-desorption cycles. The experimental CO 2 adsorption isotherm data is examined by using several isotherm models – Langmuir, Freundlich, and Sips, by using non-linear regression method. The findings reveal that the Sips model mathematically represents the CO 2 adsorption, irrespective of adsorption temperature. Besides, heterogeneity characteristics of gas-solid adsorption is further confirmed through the isosteric heat of adsorption (Q st ) value that decreases with increasing surface loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, commercial Norit® SX2 activated carbon has been evaluated as a solid adsorbent for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture at the post-combustion conditions, which are at an ambient pressure and low temperatures (< 120 o C). The CO 2 equilibrium adsorption capacity is assessed through a static volumetric technique. This solid adsorbent is characterized in terms of elemental analysis, nitrogen physisorption, as well as surface morphology. The CO 2 adsorptive property of the commercial Norit® SX2 demonstrates a reduction in the amount of CO 2 adsorbed at an elevated temperature, and accordingly, it indicates that CO 2 adsorption is a physical adsorption process and demonstrates a behavior of an exothermic reaction, which consistent with the thermodynamics analysis. Different isotherm models are applied to mathematically model the CO 2 adsorption, and on basis of the regression coefficient (R 2 ), the Freundlich model provides a perfect fit to the experimental data, owing to closeness of the R 2 to unity. The result obtained in this study can serve as a benchmark while searching for inexpensive and superior activated carbon production in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]