High-Surface-Area Mesoporous Activated Carbon from Hemp Bast Fiber Using Hydrothermal Processing

Md  Zakir Hossain; Wei Wu; William  Z. Xu; Muhammad  B. I. Chowdhury; Anil  Kumar Jhawar; Devin Machin; Paul  A. Charpentier

doi:10.3390/c4030038

C (Jun 2018)

High-Surface-Area Mesoporous Activated Carbon from Hemp Bast Fiber Using Hydrothermal Processing

Md Zakir Hossain,
Wei Wu,
William Z. Xu,
Muhammad B. I. Chowdhury,
Anil Kumar Jhawar,
Devin Machin,
Paul A. Charpentier

Affiliations

Md Zakir Hossain: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Wei Wu: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
William Z. Xu: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Muhammad B. I. Chowdhury: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Anil Kumar Jhawar: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Devin Machin: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada
Paul A. Charpentier: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B9, Canada

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/c4030038
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 4, no. 3
p. 38

Abstract

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Synthesis of activated carbon from waste biomass is of current interest towards sustainability. The properties of biomass-derived activated carbon largely depend on the carbonization process. This study reports the preparation of mesoporous activated carbon with extremely high surface area from hemp bast fiber using hydrothermal processing. Hot water processing (390–500 °C) followed by activation using KOH and NaOH was investigated at different mass ratios. The described approach was found to enhance the mesoporosity (centered at 3.0 to 4.5 nm) of the hemp-derived activated carbon (HAC) from activation [confirmed by BJH (Barrett-Joyner-Halenda) pore size distribution and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) imaging]. BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) results showed that the product has an extremely high surface area (2425 m2/g) while the surface functional groups (–OH, –COOH, C=C/C–C) were confirmed by FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) and further quantified by XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). Increasing KOH concentration was found to enhance the surface area with a maximum biochar-to-KOH (g/g) ratio of 1:3. The crystallite domain size of HAC was determined using Raman spectroscopy of different wavelengths. The procedure described in this study is an environmentally friendly scalable route for the mass production of activated carbon using hemp fiber.

Published in C

ISSN: 2311-5629 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/carbon

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