Nano Carbon Black And Activated Carbon From Agricultural Waste Filled Epoxy Composites
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Date
2012
Authors
Firoozian, Parisha
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Abstract
Carbon blacks and activated carbons derived from agricultural wastes such as bamboo stem (BS), coconut shells (CNS) and oil palm empty fiber bunch (EFB), were obtained by pyrolysis of these natural fibers at 700 0C and subsequently activated with KOH and H3PO4. The various carbon blacks and activated carbons prepared were characterized and used as filler in epoxy composites. The physical and chemical properties of the carbon blacks and activated carbons were studied using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) of activated carbons and carbon black were also carried out. The effect of pyrolysis on carbon black and two different chemical activations by H3PO4 and KOH on activated carbons were also studied. It was observed that KOH activation proved more effective than H3PO4 and physical activation on agricultural wastes resulted in higher percentage of mesopores and higher surface area.
A novel epoxy nano-composite with good electrical conductivity and having improved mechanical and thermal properties was synthesized. The carbon black and activated carbon filled epoxy composites were prepared and characterized for mechanical, morphological, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties. The CNS-CB and AC-CNS filled epoxy composites exhibited better flexural properties compared with EFB-CB and AC-BS in carbon black and activated carbon filled epoxy composite, respectively. Also, EFB-CB and AC-EFB showed better tensile properties than the neat epoxy, which was attributed to better adhesion between the particle and matrix. Among 1%, 5% and 10% by volume filler loading, 5% AC-CNS K showed higher flexural strength and modulus followed by AC-BS K and AC-EFB K. The SEM showed that the fractured surface of the composite indicates its high resistance to fracture. TEM results confirmed homogeneous dispersion at 5% filler loading in addition to nano-particle size of activated carbon and carbon black.
TGA results showed enhancement in thermal stability of the carbon black and activated carbon filled composites compared to the neat epoxy resin. The major improvement in thermal stability was observed for 5% AC-EFB K which is five times more than neat epoxy. This observation was attributed to the improved in the degree of crystallinity of AC-EFB K filled epoxy composite, determined by XRD results.
DMA results have shown significant improvement of storage modulus particularly in case of AC-CNS K filled epoxy composite as compared to other composites, followed by AC-BS K.
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Keywords
Sewage disposal