Modified Activated Carbon Synthesized from Oil Palm Leaves Waste as a Novel Green Adsorbent for Chemical Oxygen Demand in Produced Water

Hifsa Khurshid, Muhammad Raza Ul Mustafa and Mohamed Hasnain Isa
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Hifsa Khurshid: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia
Muhammad Raza Ul Mustafa: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia
Mohamed Hasnain Isa: Civil Engineering Programme, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Gadong BE1410, Brunei

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: Palm tree waste is one of the most widespread forms of agricultural waste, particularly in areas where oil palms are cultivated, and its management is one of the industry’s key concerns. To deal with this palm waste, researchers are working hard to work out the ways to convert this plentiful waste into useful material for future beneficial applications. The objective of this study was to employ chemical activation techniques to prepare a new activated carbon (AC) using discarded oil palm leaves (OPL) in Malaysia. Three chemical agents (H 3 PO 4 , NaOH and ZnCl 2 ), as well as three pyrolysis temperatures (400 °C, 600 °C and 800 °C) and various impregnation ratios (1:0.5–1:3) were used to optimize the preparation process. As a result, the oil palm leaves activated carbon (OPLAC), with prominent surface properties, was obtained by ZnCl 2 activations with a 1:1 impregnation ratio and carbonized at a pyrolysis temperature of 800 °C. The OPLAC-ZC had a surface area of 331.153 m 2 /g, pore size of 2.494 nm and carbon content of 81.2%. Results showed that the OPLAC-ZC was able to quickly (90 min) remove the chemical oxygen demand (COD) from produced water (PW), through chemical adsorption and an intraparticle diffusion mechanism. The material followed pseudo-second order kinetic and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum adsorption capacity of organic pollutants forming COD in PW was found to be 4.62 mg/g (59.6 ± 5%). When compared to previous studies, the OPLAC-ZC showed equivalent or better COD removal capability. It is the first detailed study reporting the preparation of AC from OPL and applying it for organic pollutants adsorption forming COD in PW.

Keywords: wastewater; oil palm leaves activated carbon; chemical activation; COD; adsorption; green technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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