Production and characterization of activated carbon from cashew nut shell using N2 as activation agent

Abstract

The activated carbon from cashew nut shell (CNS) has been prepared by physical activation. The cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) is primarily extracted from a shell by using handed-rotary roaster kiln at the temperature around 170°C. The carbonization is done by augmenting temperature up to 350°C without taking out the CNS from kiln. The carbonized CNS is crushed and sieved of 60 mesh. While the activation process, nitrogen gas is flowed through the electric furnace with a constant flow rate and the activation temperature is varied from 400°C to 900°C. Sample then is characterized using ultimate analysis to determine composition of activated carbon including carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O) and sulphur (S) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) to know the surface morphology and element composition respectively and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) is used to know the structural properties. The ultimate analysis shows that carbon element in the sample increases as activation temperature increases up to 700°C of 79.80% and then decreases to 79.14% at 900°C. XRD pattern shows that it appears a broaden peak about 2θ = 24°C indicating an amorphous structure. The increasing of activation temperature tends to graphitization process of activated carbon.