Abstract:

Activated carbon is widely used due to its high surface area and high adsorption properties. For the production of activated carbon, chemical or physical activation process is applied by using many different sources (coal, hazelnut shell, straw, etc.). The activation capacity of each source used is different. In our country, there are many studies on activation using coal source. In activation studies with coal, it has been determined that low ash content has positive effects on activation. In this study, chemical activation was applied to the raw Soma-Manisa lignite coal, the treated form of the same coal (with reduced ash content) and their mixtures at certain ratios, and the obtained surface area, fixed carbon and adsorption capacity results were given comparatively. The ash content reduction was done by using organic solvent. The effects of pre-treatment with hydrofluoric acid (HF), hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were also investigated in order to reduce the ash content of the raw Soma coal. For the production of activated carbon, mixtures of pre-treated and untreated coals with potassium hydroxide salt (KOH) were prepared and chemical activation process was carried out. The highest surface area was obtained at the value of 2259.38 m2 /g as a result of the activation of Soma coal, which was pretreated with HF, mixed with KOH and activated in the nitrogen environment. A surface area of approximately 1600 m2 /g was obtained in nitrogen environment by using KOH with mixtures of ash-reduced coal and Soma coal in a 1:1 ratio. When the activated carbons obtained were compared with the commercial activated carbons, it was determined that the surface area was higher with the activation with KOH.

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