Fine Activated Carbon from Rubber Fruit Shell Prepared by Using ZnCl 2 and KOH Activation.

Fine activated carbon (FAC) is prepared from rubber fruit shells (RFS) using two chemical activating agents (ZnCl₂ and KOH) and three impregnation ratios (1:3, 1:4, and 1:5). The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) results show that for a constant impregnation ratio, the ZnCl₂ activating agent yields a higher specific surface area than the KOH agent. In particular, for the maximum impregnation ratio of 1:5, the FAC prepared using ZnCl₂ has a BET surface area of 456 m²/g, a nitrogen absorption capacity of 150.38 cm³/g, and an average pore size of 3.44 nm. Moreover, the FAC structure consists of 70.1% mesopores and has a carbon content of 80.05 at.%. Overall, the results confirm that RFS, activated using an appropriate quantity of ZnCl₂, provides a cheap, abundant, and highly promising precursor material for the preparation of activated carbon with high carbon content and good adsorption properties [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]