Adsorption Studies of Aliphatic Organic Acids on Activated Carbon : Conversion of Prunus persica Wood into Activated Carbon

Wood of Prunus persica was utilized for the preparation of activated carbon. The carbon was characterized by pH, moisture content, ash content, bulk density, surface area (BET), FTIR and EDS. The BET (m2/g) surface area analysis of the carbon samples activated at 800 oC showed high surface area. FTIR analysis showed that the carbon surface carried the oxygen containing functional groups, which disappeared at high activation temperatures. The EDS analysis showed high carbon contents in the sample activated at high temperature as compared to Raw and 300 oC activated samples while the contents of oxygen was found to decrease with the increase in activation temperature. The equilibrium for the aliphatic mono carboxylic acids adsorption on the carbon samples was achieved after 3 hours. Freundlich and Langmuir models were used to know the adsorption parameters. The best fit of the isotherms, found from the correlation coefficients were in the sequence: Langmuir < freundlich.