Production, Activation and CO 2 Uptake Capacity of a Carbonaceous Microporous Material from Palm Oil Residues

Cristina Moliner, Simona Focacci, Beatrice Antonucci, Aldo Moreno, Simba Biti, Fazlena Hamzah, Alfonso Martinez-Felipe, Elisabetta Arato () and Claudia Fernández Martín
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Cristina Moliner: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Simona Focacci: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Beatrice Antonucci: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Aldo Moreno: Chemical Process and Materials Research Group, School of Engineering, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK
Simba Biti: Chemical Process and Materials Research Group, School of Engineering, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK
Fazlena Hamzah: School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
Alfonso Martinez-Felipe: Chemical Process and Materials Research Group, School of Engineering, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK
Elisabetta Arato: Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy
Claudia Fernández Martín: Chemical Process and Materials Research Group, School of Engineering, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, UK

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: While Malaysia produces about half of the world’s palm oil and is the largest producer and exporter worldwide, oil palm industries generate large amounts of lignocellulosic biomass waste as a sub-product with no economic market value other than feedstock for energy valorisation. With the aim to increase the sustainability of the sector, in this work we prepare new materials for CO 2 capture from palm oil residues (empty fruit bunches and kernels). The biochar is obtained through the carbonisation of the residues and is physically and chemically activated to produce porous materials. The resulting microporous samples have similar properties to other commercial activated carbons, with BET surfaces in the 320–880 m 2 /g range and pore volumes of 0.1–0.3 cm 3 ·g −1 . The CO 2 uptake at room temperature for physically activated biochar (AC) was 2.4–3.6 mmolCO 2 /gAC, whereas the average CO 2 uptake for chemically activated biochar was 3.36–3.80 mmolCO 2 /gAC. The amount of CO 2 adsorbed decreased at the highest temperature, as expected due to the exothermic nature of adsorption. These findings confirm the high potential of palm oil tree residues as sustainable materials for CO 2 capture.

Keywords: palm oil waste; CO 2 uptake; adsorption; chemical and physical activation; biochar (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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