Thermal and chemical reactivation of spent activated carbon for glycerine purification
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Date
2019-06
Authors
Khok, Yi Thung
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Abstract
Activated carbon (AC) is a widely used adsorption material for glycerine purification due to its extremely porous structure that can effectively remove targeted contaminants. However after prolonged usage, the AC will become saturated and have limited adsorption ability. In this research, the adsorption ability of spent AC (SAC) was restored by reactivation. Thermal reactivation was done by placing SAC in tubular furnace with varying CO2 flow rate (100-500 cc/min) to thermally desorp adsorbates at 800°C on SAC surface. Chemical reactivation was done in room temperature and in 80°C water bath by immersing SAC in various NaOH concentration to allow desorption of adsorbates by chemisorption. Chemical reactivation carried out at room temperature with 10M NaOH (CRAC 10) has best adsorption ability, concluded by its high yield normalised iodine number recorded at 904.15 mg/g. CRAC 10 shows best result for glycerine purification, with percentage purification of 45.46% after adsorption. The optimum dosage for glycerine purification is 20 g/l. Percentage reduction of adsorbates after adsorption are 38.64%, 40%, 64.29% and 84.65% for FFAs, carotenoids, chlorophyll and ash respectively.