Effect of chemical treatment on production of activated carbon from Cocos nucifera L. (Coconut) shell by microwave irradiation method

In recent years, activated carbon has attracted attention among researchers due to its special
properties such as high porosity, highly adsorption and low cost. In this research, activated carbon
has been successfully produced from the coconut shell by using the microwave irradiation method
where zinc chloride (ZnCl2), phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) were
implemented as the activating agents. The results showed that phosphoric acid has the most
significant effect on the synthesized activated carbon properties. The optimum parameter for the
power of microwave irradiation used was 380 W, impregnation ratio of activating agent to char was
3:1 for phosphoric acid, 2:1 for sodium hydroxide, and for 1:1 zinc chloride while concentration of
each activating agents was 0.5 M with 10 minutes of activation time. All samples then were
characterized by using, Moisture meter, FTIR-ATR, XRD and TGA in order to determine the
functional groups, composition and element and weight loss of the activated carbon. This research
could benefit the environment by recycling the agriculture waste into a new useful material as well
as to keep the environment safe from pollution.