PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON ORIGINATED FROM Lantana camara Stem
A. O. OLAYIWOLA
Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Unit, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
A. O. ALADE
Department of Chemical Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
A. G. FAROMBI
Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Nigeria.
O. S. AMUDA *
Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Unit, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The application of agricultural waste for the production of activated carbon for the adsorption of pollutants from wastewater has become attractive in recent time. Activated carbon was produced from Lantana camara stem in this study. The Lantana camara stem were cut into smaller sizes, washed and sundried for 6 days. Thereafter, it was carbonized at 300°C for 2 hr and then grinded to granules before being steam activated. The activated LCS was oven-dried at 105°C for 24 hr and grinded to 2 mm mesh sizes. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis indicate that steam-activated LCS is characterized by stretching vibration (3500 – 2500 cm-1), and stretching vibration (2196 cm-1) as well as stretching vibration (1682 cm-1). Similarly, the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis shows that the average pore size on the activated LCS is 20 µm. This Indicates that the steam-activated carbon produced from LCS may be a potential adsorbent for the adsorption of pollutants found in wastewater.
Keywords: Production, characterization, activated carbon, Lantana camara stem, steam activation