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Activated carbon (AC) has a broad range of applications such as wastewater treatment, gas separation, purification, energy storage, and adsorbents. However, the majority of commercially activated carbons are made from nonrenewable fossil-based material. Therefore, biomass-derived activated carbon has attracted much attention in replacing fossil-based carbon precursors due to environmental issues. In this research, Oil palm shell (OPS), as one of local commodity by-products in Indonesian oil palm industry, was used as a raw material due to its high lignin content to produce high-yield AC to investigate the effect of different activator agents on the adsorption capability of materials. By varying the activator agents which are H3PO4 and ZnCl2, hydrothermal and pyrolysis method were conducted at 220°C for 8 hours and at 800°C for 1 hour, respectively. Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, and N2 Adsorption-Desorption measurements were used to characterize the structural properties of our ACs. The moisture content, ash content, volatile matter, and fixed carbon of the samples were tested and have met SNI standard 06-3730-1995 for technical activated carbon. The structural results indicate that our material has an amorphous structure with the dominance of microstructure pores while the highest surface area is owned by AC with an H3PO4 activator with a value of 859.52 m2/g. The adsorption capability of AC was tested through Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B adsorption which indicate that our materials have approached SNI standard and show good capability of adsoprtion. In general, this material can potentially be used for adsorbents to purify liquids in many applications especially to reduce color in wastewater treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activated carbon is an amorphous material that is widely used as a filter, adsorbent, electrode material, etc. However, conventional activated carbon is non-eco-friendly material due to its unsustainable issue, therefore, biomass-based activated carbon (AC) has become popular research in order to replace fossil-based activated carbon. In this study, we used oil palm waste as our raw materials from different parts of the oil palm tree such as Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFB), and Oil Palm Shells (OPS). The different structures of activated carbon from oil palm waste will be investigated through OPEFB and OPS while the differences in carbonization methods between hydrothermal and pyrolysis were performed on OPS and OPS-char. These materials were activated using solid KOH and FeCl2.H2O, followed by pyrolysis at 800oC in an N2 atmosphere. Physical characterization was carried out by proximate analysis to determine the quality of activated carbon using ASTM standards. Meanwhile, the structural characterization was carried out using XRD, BET, and FESEM methods to observe the structural morphology of each activated carbon. The proximate analysis results show good results that meet ASTM standards D 3172-3175 with low moisture, ash content, volatile matter, and high fixed carbon values. The highest value in the methylene blue adsorption test was found in AC OPEFB. XRD analysis showed that our samples have an amorphous structure while BET analysis presents our samples have high surface area namely, AC OPEFB (775.58 m2/g), AC OPS (733.04 m2/g), and AC OPS-char (594.093 m2/g). The FESEM images show the formed AC pores depending on the natural structure and type of carbonization method. In general, these material properties can be applied to pore-based applications such as adsorbents in wastewater treatment or electrodes in energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]