Treatment of Methylene Blue Using Activated Carbon Prepared from Palm Kernel Shell

The removal of dyes from textile wastewater effluent has become a vital process nowadays since dyes are widely used in textile industries. It is well known that activated carbon (AC) is a good adsorbent for dye removal and it is widely used in industries for wastewater treatment. Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) was used in this research in order to reduce the amount of waste PKS which also known as agricultural waste. Purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics and adsorption efficiency on Methylene Blue (MB) dye by palm kernel shell activated carbon (PKSAC). The PKS was carbonized at 400 °C for 1 hour, impregnated in KOH with ratio 1:1 and then carbonized again at 800 °C for l5 minutes. Various parameters were investigated like pH of the MB dye solution, initial dye concentration and flow rate. The optimum conditions for the removal of MB dye are: original pH, 150 mg/L of initial dye concentration and l mL/min of flow rate. SEM and TGA were carried out to determine the surface morphology and weight loss of the sample respectively. It is proved that PKS can be used in preparing AC due to its high surface areas. Hence, it is concluded that PKSAC have the ability to be an alternative low cost adsorbent.