Sumrit Mopoung

Characterization and Properties of Activated Carbon Prepared from Tamarind Seeds by KOH Activation for Fe(III) Adsorption from Aqueous Solution

This research studies the characterization of activated carbon from tamarind seed with KOH activation. The effects of 0.5 : 1–1.5 : 1 KOH : tamarind seed charcoal ratios and 500–700°C activation temperatures were studied. FTIR, SEM-EDS, XRD, and BET were used to characterize tamarind seed and the activated carbon prepared from them. Proximate analysis, percent yield, iodine number, methylene blue number, and preliminary test of Fe(III) adsorption were also studied. Fe(III) adsorption was carried out by 30 mL column with 5–20 ppm Fe(III) initial concentrations. The percent yield of activated carbon prepared from tamarind seed with KOH activation decreased with increasing activation temperature and impregnation ratios, which were in the range from 54.09 to 82.03 wt%. The surface functional groups of activated carbon are O–H, C=O, C–O, –CO3, C–H, and Si–H. The XRD result showed high crystallinity coming from a potassium compound in the activated carbon. The main elements found in the activated carbon by EDS are C, O, Si, and K. The results of iodine and methylene blue adsorption indicate that the pore size of the activated carbon is mostly in the range of mesopore and macropore. The average BET pore size and BET surface area of activated carbon are 67.9764 Å and 2.7167 m2/g, respectively. Finally, the tamarind seed based activated carbon produced with 500°C activation temperature and 1.0 : 1 KOH : tamarind seed charcoal ratio was used for Fe(III) adsorption test. It was shown that Fe(III) was adsorbed in alkaline conditions and adsorption increased with increasing Fe(III) initial concentration from 5 to 20 ppm with capacity adsorption of 0.0069–0.019 mg/g.

The Effect of Rice Husk Charcoal and Sintering Temperature on Porosity of Sintered Mixture of Clay and Zeolite

Objectives: Sintered porous clay for possible as a water filter was fabricated from clay and zeolite mixtures (50:50 ratio weight by weight) with adding of rice husk charcoal as porous template. Methods/Statistical Analysis: The effect of particle size ( 250 µm) and amount (25, 35, and 50 wt%) of rice husk charcoal and sintering temperature (800, 900, and 10000C) for linear shrinkage, density, water absorption, compressive strength, and functional groups on sintered mixture clays were investigated. The FTIR and SEM were also used for characterization of sintered porous clays. Findings: The results showed that the water absorption and the open porosity increased with increasing amount and size of rice husk charcoal, while the density and compressive strength decreased. However, these properties are inverse as increasing of sintering temperature from 800 to 10000C. The results of FTIR and SEM confirmed occurring of glassy form, high open porosity and macropore in sintered mixture clays. The study results could be concluded that the mixtures of rice husk charcoal and clays with ratios 25 wt% rice husk charcoal for 250 µm size : 37.5 wt% Thapo clay : 37.5 wt% zeolite at 800-1000 0C sintering temperature are suitable for water filter fabrication with values of 30.44-42.80 %porosity and 3349.94-4629.66 kN/m2 of compressive strength. Application/ Improvements: Rice husk charcoal was used as template for water filter fabrication at 800-10000C sintering temperature which values of porosity and compressive strength are according to traditional water filter manufacture standards. Keywords: Porous Ceramic, Rice Husk Charcoal, Thapo Clay, Water Filter, Zeolite