Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbon Derived from Lignocellulosic Waste Biomass

The study reports the use of wood waste biomass to obtain activated carbons. Lignocellulosic materials used as precursors are pine and beech sawdust, which is an industrial residue. Carbonization and subsequent chemical activation with potassium hydroxide (KOH) at 600 °C was done to develop high surface area. The produced AC samples were characterized for their physical and chemical properties using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Elemental composition analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. The results obtained show the activated carbons prepared have a very high specific surface area (from 1200 to 1600 m
²
g
^-1
) and high microporous volume (about 0.500 cm
³
g
^-1
). These characteristics are a prerequisite for the obtained AC to be used as adsorbents in the removal of toxic pollutants from the environment.