Evaluation of adsorptive desulfurization performance and economic applicability comparison of activated carbons prepared from various carbon sources

Locally discarded olive oil waste was tested as a potential raw material for the preparation of activated carbons. Chemical activation by impregnation with H3PO4 was employed using acid solutions of varying concentration in the range 30–70% followed by thermal treatment at 500–700°C. The development of porosity was followed from an analysis of the nitrogen adsorption isotherms obtained at 77 K by applying standard BET and t-plot methods. Carbons with low to moderate surface areas (273–827 m2/g) and total pore volumes (0.27–0.69 ml/g), containing essentially micropores with diameters of 8.2 Å up to 12.4 Å were obtained. Increasing the concentration of impregnant led to the development of porosity with the optimum being attained at 60% H3PO4. Phosphoric acid is visualized as acting both as an acid catalyst promoting bond-cleavage reactions and the formation of new crosslinks and also as a reactant which combines with organic species to form phosphate and polyphosphate bridges which connect and crosslink biopolymer fragments. The present study suggests many applications for environmental pollution control, firstly by utilizing accumulating low-cost agricultural by-products and secondly by producing a multi-purpose high-capacity adsorbent useful in the remediation of micropollutants in various water courses.

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Pistachio Shell-Derived Carbon Activated with Phosphoric Acid: A More Efficient Procedure to Improve the Performance of Li–S Batteries

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano10050840 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 840 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Almudena Benítez ◽

Julián Morales ◽

Álvaro Caballero

Keyword(s):

Phosphoric Acid ◽

Activated Carbons ◽

Low Cost ◽

High Surface ◽

High Surface Area ◽

Rate Capability ◽

Textural Properties ◽

Raw Material ◽

Interconnected System ◽

Pistachio Shell

A sustainable and low-cost lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery was produced by reusing abundant waste from biomass as a raw material. Pistachio shell was the by-product from the agri-food industry chosen to obtain activated carbon with excellent textural properties, which acts as a conductive matrix for sulfur. Pistachio shell-derived carbon activated with phosphoric acid exhibits a high surface area (1345 m2·g−1) and pore volume (0.67 cm3·g−1), together with an interconnected system of micropores and mesopores that is capable of accommodating significant amounts of S and enhancing the charge carrier mobility of the electrochemical reaction. Moreover, preparation of the S composite was carried out by simple wet grinding of the components, eliminating the usual stage of S melting. The cell performance was very satisfactory, both in long-term cycling measurements and in rate capability tests. After the initial cycles required for cell stabilization, it maintained good capacity retention for the 300 cycles measured (the capacity loss was barely 0.85 mAh·g−1 per cycle). In the rate capability test, the capacity released was around 650 mAh·g−1 at 1C, a higher value than that supplied by other activated carbons from nut wastes.

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Performance of Activated Carbon Made from Gigantochloa verticillata Bamboo for Biogas Purification

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.1013.75 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1013 ◽

pp. 75-80

Author(s):

I Putu Hari Wangsa ◽

Tjokorda Gde Tirta Nindhia ◽

Dewa Ngakan Ketut Putra Negara ◽

I Wayan Surata

Keyword(s):

Activated Carbon ◽

Activated Carbons ◽

Low Cost ◽

Raw Material ◽

Particle Sizes ◽

Nitrogen Gas ◽

Thermo Gravimetric ◽

Natural Sources ◽

Before And After ◽

Biogas Purification

Biogas is known to contain mainly methane (CH4), and other gas impurities such as carbon dioxide (CO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Biogas should be purified to remove gas impurities prior to be used as a fuel. Activated carbon is a famous biogas purifier. Commercial activated carbons are found expensive due to high cost during production. New routes for low cost production of activated carbon are still in progress. Many natural sources were explored for production of low cost and good quality activated carbon. One of the natural sources of raw material of activated carbon is bamboo. The bamboo from species of Gigantochloa verticillata from the tropical source of Indonesia was prepared for this purpose. The bamboo was cut from the tree, dried under the sun and cut to small pieces. The dried small pieces of bamboo cut were carbonized at 700 °C for 1.5 hours in air-tight chamber made from steel. The sample then was crushed and screen in 3 different particle sizes, namely: 150-250 mesh, 250-350 mesh and 350-450 mesh. About 100 gram of carbonized bamboo from these three variations were activated at 750°C for 1 hour in around 5100 cm3 steel chamber with nitrogen gas (N2) was flowed with rate 350 ml/minute. The result of activated carbon were analyzed by using TGA (thermo gravimetric analyses) for moisture, volatile, ash and fixed carbon composition test. The activated carbon then was set in acrylic tube for biogas purification. Around 200 liters of raw biogas were collected in PVC bag. The biogas was flowed with flow rate 500 mL/minute. The biogas composition before and after passing the activated carbon was measured in three time repetitions. The results indicate that the activated carbon made from Gigantochloa verticillata bamboo developed in this work is promising biogas purifier.

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Sustainable Surfactin Production by Bacillus subtilis Using Crude Glycerol from Different Wastes

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26123488 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (12) ◽

pp. 3488

Author(s):

Tomasz Janek ◽

Eduardo J. Gudiña ◽

Xymena Połomska ◽

Piotr Biniarz ◽

Dominika Jama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Crude Glycerol ◽

Culture Media ◽

Low Cost ◽

Carbon Sources ◽

Chemical Characterization ◽

Raw Material ◽

Waste Glycerol ◽

Wide Range ◽

Surfactin Production

Most biosurfactants are obtained using costly culture media and purification processes, which limits their wider industrial use. Sustainability of their production processes can be achieved, in part, by using cheap substrates found among agricultural and food wastes or byproducts. In the present study, crude glycerol, a raw material obtained from several industrial processes, was evaluated as a potential low-cost carbon source to reduce the costs of surfactin production by Bacillus subtilis #309. The culture medium containing soap-derived waste glycerol led to the best surfactin production, reaching about 2.8 g/L. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing surfactin production by B. subtilis using stearin and soap wastes as carbon sources. A complete chemical characterization of surfactin analogs produced from the different waste glycerol samples was performed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Furthermore, the surfactin produced in the study exhibited good stability in a wide range of pH, salinity and temperatures, suggesting its potential for several applications in biotechnology.

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A Short Review on the Electrochemical Performance of Hierarchical and Nitrogen-Doped Activated Biocarbon-Based Electrodes for Supercapacitors

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11020424 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 424

Author(s):

Glaydson Simões dos Reis ◽

Helinando Pequeno de Oliveira ◽

Sylvia H. Larsson ◽

Mikael Thyrel ◽

Eder Claudio Lima

Keyword(s):

Electrochemical Performance ◽

Nitrogen Doping ◽

Activated Carbons ◽

Low Cost ◽

Carbon Sources ◽

Short Review ◽

Electricity Production ◽

Pore Characteristics ◽

Natural Carbon ◽

Processing Techniques

Cheap and efficient carbon electrodes (CEs) for energy storage systems (ESS) such as supercapacitors (SCs) and batteries are an increasing priority issue, among other things, due to a globally increasing share of intermittent electricity production (solar and wind) and electrification of transport. The increasing consumption of portable and non-portable electronic devices justifies research that enables environmentally and economically sustainable production (materials, processing techniques, and product design) of products with a high electrochemical performance at an acceptable cost. Among all the currently explored CEs materials, biomass-based activated carbons (AC) present enormous potential due to their availability and low-cost, easy processing methods, physicochemical stability, and methods for self-doping. Nitrogen doping methods in CEs for SCs have been demonstrated to enhance its conductivities, surface wettability, and induced pseudocapacitance effect, thereby delivering improved energy/power densities with versatile properties. Herein, a short review is presented, focusing on the different types of natural carbon sources for preparing CEs towards the fabrication of SCs with high electrochemical performance. The influences of ACs’ pore characteristics (micro and mesoporosity) and nitrogen doping on the overall electrochemical performance (EP) are addressed.

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High-Density Ceramics Obtained By Andesite Basalt Sintering

10.21203/rs.3.rs-827727/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vladimir Pavkov ◽

Gordana Bakić ◽

Vesna Maksimović ◽

Ivana Cvijović-Alagić ◽

Marija Prekajski Đorđević ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Fracture Toughness ◽

Low Cost ◽

Environmentally Friendly ◽

Processing Parameters ◽

Industrial Applications ◽

Cold Isostatic Pressing ◽

High Density ◽

Raw Material ◽

Andesite Basalt

Abstract Modern industrial requirements include not only the usage of constructive materials with good mechanical properties but also materials obtained through environmentally friendly and low-cost processing procedures. Basalt, as a low-cost raw material, is regarded as a good candidate for industrial constructive parts production. In the present study, andesite basalt originated from the deposit site "Donje Jarinje", Serbia, was examined as a potential raw material for high-density ceramics production. The production of high-density ceramics included dry milling, homogenization, cold isostatic pressing, and sintering in the air. To determine the optimal processing parameters the sintering was conducted at 1040, 1050, 1060, 1070, and 1080 °C, and afterward the sintering duration was varied from 30 to 240 min at the optimal sintering temperature of 1060 °C. Characterization of the starting and sintered materials included the estimation of particle size distribution, density, hardness, and fracture toughness complemented with X-ray diffraction, light optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis. Phase transformations did not occur during processing in the investigated temperature range from 1040 to 1080 °C. The obtained research results showed that 99.5% of relative density and the highest hardness and fracture toughness values of 6.7 GPa and 2.2 MPaÖm, respectively, were achieved for the andesite basalt sintered at 1060 °C for 60 min in the air. The results of the presented study confirmed that the sintered andesite basalt can be used as a high-density ceramic material for various industrial applications since this environmentally friendly material shows satisfactory mechanical properties.

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Environmentally Friendly Gelatin/β-Cyclodextrin Composite Fiber Adsorbents for the Efficient Removal of Dyes from Wastewater

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules23102473 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (10) ◽

pp. 2473 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Yu Chen ◽

Yanli Ma ◽

Weipeng Lu ◽

Yanchuan Guo ◽

Yi Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Strength ◽

High Efficiency ◽

Removal Rate ◽

Gentian Violet ◽

Low Cost ◽

Environmentally Friendly ◽

Composite Fiber ◽

Raw Material ◽

Maximum Adsorption Capacity ◽

Order Kinetic

In this paper, environmentally friendly gelatin/β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) composite fiber adsorbents prepared by electrospinning were used for the removal of dyes from wastewater. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a universal materials tester were employed to characterize the internal structures, surface morphologies and mechanical strength of the composite fiber adsorbents. Additionally, the fiber was evaluated as an adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution. The effects of the raw material ratio, pH, temperature, concentration and adsorption time were studied. The results show that the gelatin/β-CD composite fiber adsorbents possess excellent mechanical strength and high adsorption efficiency for MB. The adsorption equilibrium and adsorption kinetics are well-described by the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, respectively. The theoretical maximum adsorption capacity is 47.4 mg·g−1. Additionally, after nine successive desorption-adsorption cycles, the removal rate is still over 70%. Moreover, the gelatin/β-CD composite fiber adsorbents exhibit excellent adsorption capability for basic fuchsin, gentian violet, brilliant blue R and malachite green dyes. Therefore, owing to the characteristics of degradability, low cost and high-efficiency, the gelatin/β-CD composite fiber can be used as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of dyes from wastewater.

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To Eliminate Curtain Effect of FIB TEM Samples by a Combination of Sample Dicing and Backside Milling

ISTFA 2014: Conference Proceedings from the 40th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa2014p0400 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Jian-Shing Luo ◽

Hsiu Ting Lee

Keyword(s):

Sample Preparation ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Preparation Method ◽

Low Cost ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Sample Preparation Method ◽

Site Specific ◽

Dual Beam ◽

Transmission Electron

Abstract Several methods are used to invert samples 180 deg in a dual beam focused ion beam (FIB) system for backside milling by a specific in-situ lift out system or stages. However, most of those methods occupied too much time on FIB systems or requires a specific in-situ lift out system. This paper provides a novel transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation method to eliminate the curtain effect completely by a combination of backside milling and sample dicing with low cost and less FIB time. The procedures of the TEM pre-thinned sample preparation method using a combination of sample dicing and backside milling are described step by step. From the analysis results, the method has applied successfully to eliminate the curtain effect of dual beam FIB TEM samples for both random and site specific addresses.

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Development of a simplified gas ultracleaning process: experiments in biomass residue-based fixed-bed gasification syngas

Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery ◽

10.1007/s13399-021-01680-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christian Frilund ◽

Esa Kurkela ◽

Ilkka Hiltunen

Keyword(s):

Activated Carbons ◽

Low Cost ◽

Fixed Bed ◽

Carbonyl Sulfide ◽

Gas Analysis ◽

Small Scale ◽

Cleaning Process ◽

Medium Temperature ◽

Gas Cleaning ◽

Adsorption Affinity

AbstractFor the realization of small-scale biomass-to-liquid (BTL) processes, low-cost syngas cleaning remains a major obstacle, and for this reason a simplified gas ultracleaning process is being developed. In this study, a low- to medium-temperature final gas cleaning process based on adsorption and organic solvent-free scrubbing methods was coupled to a pilot-scale staged fixed-bed gasification facility including hot filtration and catalytic reforming steps for extended duration gas cleaning tests for the generation of ultraclean syngas. The final gas cleaning process purified syngas from woody and agricultural biomass origin to a degree suitable for catalytic synthesis. The gas contained up to 3000 ppm of ammonia, 1300 ppm of benzene, 200 ppm of hydrogen sulfide, 10 ppm of carbonyl sulfide, and 5 ppm of hydrogen cyanide. Post-run characterization displayed that the accumulation of impurities on the Cu-based deoxygenation catalyst (TOS 105 h) did not occur, demonstrating that effective main impurity removal was achieved in the first two steps: acidic water scrubbing (AWC) and adsorption by activated carbons (AR). In the final test campaign, a comprehensive multipoint gas analysis confirmed that ammonia was fully removed by the scrubbing step, and benzene and H2S were fully removed by the subsequent activated carbon beds. The activated carbons achieved > 90% removal of up to 100 ppm of COS and 5 ppm of HCN in the syngas. These results provide insights into the adsorption affinity of activated carbons in a complex impurity matrix, which would be arduous to replicate in laboratory conditions.

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Synthesis of catalysts with fine platinum particles supported by high-surface-area activated carbons and optimization of their catalytic activities for polymer electrolyte fuel cells

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/d1ra02156g ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (33) ◽

pp. 20601-20611

Author(s):

Md. Mijanur Rahman ◽

Kenta Inaba ◽

Garavdorj Batnyagt ◽

Masato Saikawa ◽

Yoshiki Kato ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Polymer Electrolyte ◽

High Performance ◽

Activated Carbons ◽

Low Cost ◽

High Surface ◽

High Surface Area ◽

Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells ◽

Supported Platinum ◽

Platinum Particles

Herein, we demonstrated that carbon-supported platinum (Pt/C) is a low-cost and high-performance electrocatalyst for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs).

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