COMPARATIVE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO-DERIVED ACTIVATED CARBONS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT APPLICATION

Che Nor Aiza  Jaafar; Charles Christopher  Sorrell; Nur Asma Izni  Ruslan; Ismail Zainol

Che Nor Aiza Jaafar
Charles Christopher Sorrell School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hilmer Building (E10), University New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia.
Nur Asma Izni Ruslan Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43000 Serdang Selangor, Malaysia.
Ismail Zainol Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

Keywords: Activated carbon (AC), NaCl chemical activation, bamboo, porosity, iodine number

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) is widely used in wastewater treatment due to its large surface area and pore volume, which enable efficient contaminant removal. Considerable research has focused on producing cost-effective AC from low-cost raw materials using physical or chemical activation methods. Chemical activation is generally preferred because it promotes the formation of larger pore structures and requires lower activation temperatures. In this study, three bamboo species: Bambusa vulgaris (BV), Gigantochloa scortechinii (GS), and Schizostachyum brachycladum (SB) were used to produce bamboo-based activated carbon (BAC) using sodium chloride (NaCl) as the activating agent. The physicochemical properties of the BAC produced through different activation procedures were compared, with activation carried out either before or after carbonization at room temperature. The influence of activation sequence on BAC properties was evaluated using density, porosity, iodine number, methylene blue adsorption, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. The results showed that NaCl treatment significantly enhanced the iodine number of all bamboo-derived AC, achieving values within the commercial range (861–950 mg/g), along with high methylene blue adsorption capacities (384-441 mg/g). The activation procedures (before or after carbonization) did not markedly affect overall BAC performance. Among the tested species, Bambusa vulgaris activated after carbonization (ABV) exhibited the highest bulk density (0.29-0.40 g/cm³), porosity (73.59-83.71 %), iodine number (950 mg/g), and methylene blue adsorption capacity (441 mg/g). SEM images revealed that all bamboo-derived AC samples displayed porous structures under both activation procedures, confirming that ABV-based BAC possessed the most well-developed porosity. These findings demonstrate that NaCl-assisted chemical activation effectively produces high-quality BAC from bamboo, offering a sustainable and economical adsorbent suitable for wastewater treatment applications.