Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research

Vol. 65, December 2006, pp. 1008-1012

Characterization and application of activated carbon prepared from waste coir pith
B Ash, D Satapathy, P S Mukherjee*, B Nanda, J L Gumaste and B K Mishra
Regional Research Laboratory, Bhubaneswar 751 013
Received 04 May 2006; accepted 24 July 2006

Activated carbon (AC) has been prepared from raw coconut pith and coconut pith impregnated with H3PO4 and NaOH
solutions separately. AC was characterized with SEM, particle size analyzer and proximate analyzer. Adsorption studies
were carried out using UV and atomic absorption spectrophotometer to find its effectiveness. AC obtained from coconut pith
treated with phosphoric acid was found comparable to the commercial grade samples.
Keywords: Adsorption, Coconut pith, Metal ion, Particle size, Pyrolysis, SEM
IPC Code: B01D17/05

Introduction into three parts on weight basis. One part was

Activated carbon (AC) has many applications1-5, pyrolysed at 823 K in a carbonaceous atmosphere.
one of which is as an adsorbent for purification of Second part was mixed with 10 % H3PO413 and the
water, air and many chemical products6. AC has been third with 10 % NaOH. These mixtures were
an effective adsorbent for dye removal7,8. Adsorption separately pyrolysed at 823 K in CO2 atmosphere for
capacity of certain carbon is known to be a function 1-2 h, after drying. They were then cooled to room
of porous structure, chemical nature of the surface and temperature. Pyrolysed carbons were further leached
pH of the aqueous solutions. Surface functional with 5 % v/v HCl for 2-3 h, then filtered and rinsed
groups play an important role in deciding adsorption with de-ionised water to neutral condition. Rinsed
capacity and removal of the adsorbents9. carbon paste was dried in an electrical oven at 383 K
Coir pith is a soft biomass separated from coconut for 3 h. AC was grounded and sieved to fine
husk during extraction of coir fiber. Due to porous agglomerates (300-800µ) for further studies.
structure, organic nature and large-scale availability, Decolorizing power of AC was measured by
it would be an ideal precursor for preparing AC10, treating with standard solution of methylene blue
which has been found to be effective for the removal (IS 877:1989). Muddy water (initial turbidity value,
of metal ions and chlorophenols11,12. Present work 431) was filtered through a composite bed of AC and
investigates the removal of metal ions and toxic sand in a vertical column in a dropwise manner, to
colouring materials from the industrial effluents using render it free from suspended matter and adsorb
AC prepared from coir pith. pollutant ions. Colored effluent liquors from textile
industries were passed through the column for
Materials and Methods decolourisation and adsorption of heavy toxic metal
Experimental Procedure ion present in it. Some heavy toxic metal ions in
AC was prepared by thermal pyrolysis of coconut aqueous solutions of 10 mg/l concentrations were
pith waste at 823 K in carbonaceous atmosphere for treated in solid – liquid suspension form through that
2 h. Before heat treatment, raw material was washed column, for adsorption studies.
thoroughly with tap water to remove earthly matter
Physico-chemical Characterization of Activated Carbon
and dried at 383 K in an electrical oven for 24 h. After AC from coir pith carbon was characterized14-16.
cooling raw material to room temperature, aqueous AC structure was examined by JEOL scanning
impregnation treatment was carried out under three
electron microscope (SEM). Adsorption of colour
different conditions. Dried raw material was divided matter studies was carried out by Systronics UV-VIS
______________ spectrophotometer 119 and PERKIN ELMER atomic
*Author for correspondence
Tel: 09861092850 absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) 3100 used for
E-mail: [email protected] study of heavy metal ion adsorption. Particle size was
 ASH et al: ACTIVATED CARBON FROM COIR PITH WASTE 1009

measured by MALVERN HYDRO 2000MU particle

size analyzer. Proximate analysis was done by TGA-
601 LECO corporation, USA, to know moisture and
ash content of the coir pith carbon.

Results and Discussion

Characterization of Coir Pith
Physico-chemical composition of coir pith is as
follows: bulk density, 0.2 g/cc; calorific value,
3400 kcal/kg; water holding capacity, 460 vol%;
lignin, 30-35; cellulose, 20-25; organic carbon, 20-25;
nitrogen, 0.3; phosphorus, 0.01; calcium, 0.4;
magnesium, 0.36; iron, 0.07; manganese, 1.3; and
zinc, 0.8 wt %. Coir pith having very low bulk density
and porous structure is found to be one of the valuable
raw materials for the production of highly porous AC.
Other important factor is its high carbon content
(25-30%).
Characterization of Activated Carbon
SEM photograph shows that wide variety of pores
is present in AC along with fibrous structure.
Phosphoric acid impregnated carbon consists of more
canals like structure than the untreated carbon. NaOH
treated carbon has also similar type of SEM
photographs. In case of phosphoric acid and NaOH
treated carbon, surfaces are pitted and fragmented
(Fig. 1). Those imperfections were not found on the
surface of the untreated carbon (Fig. 1).
Particle size distribution of commercial grade AC
(a product from E-Merck (India) Ltd. Mumbai) and
AC from coir pith (d10, d50, d90) is shown in Fig. 2.
Average particle sizes of both the carbons show that
d10 and d50 values are almost comparable with that of
commercial grade AC (Table 1). However, d90 values
are higher for commercial grade AC than coconut pith
carbon. Specific surface area of AC from coconut pith
(0.52 m2/g) is higher than that of commercial grade
AC. (0.48 m2/g.). Adsorption capacity of coir pith
carbon will be better than that of commercial grade
carbon due to larger specific area.
Application of Coir Pith Carbon Fig. 1SEM analysis of a) untreated coir pith carbon, b)
Thermal pyrolysis (823-873K) of dried and phosphoric acid impregnated carbon, and c) NaOH treated carbon
impregnated coconut pith in a carbonaceous
atmosphere gives carbon (25-30 wt%) of the starting
charge. Phase analysis of the leached AC shows: Table 1Average particle size and specific surface area of
different activated carbons
moisture, 11.0; ash, 9.8; water-soluble matter, 4.5;
and acid soluble matter, 4.62 wt %. Bulk density of Type of AC D10 D50 D90 Specific surface
AC was 0.72% g/cc with overall porosity of 460% µm µm µm area, m2/g
(v/v). Adsorption of dissolved cations from water to Coconut pith 6.019 31.425 94.041 0.52
the surface of active carbon is brought about by Commercial grade 5.429 31.616 243.061 0.48
1010 J SCI IND RES VOL 65 DECEMBER 2006

Fig. 2Particle size distribution curve for a) commercial grade AC, b) untreated coir pith carbon, c) H3PO4 impregnated coir pith carbon
and d) NaOH treated coir pith carbon

valence interactions of different cations. Turbid water Turbidity value from 431 ntu reduces to 001 ntu of
(pH 5.8) before purification indicated presence of collected muddy water. Active carbon obtained after
acidic cations and other acidic radicals. But the same pyrolysis of coconut pith waste in carbonaceous
water after filtration through a bed of AC showed a atmosphere at low temperature of 823 K shows nearly
pH of 6.8, which strongly suggests that some neutral interface whereas the same carbon obtained
dissolved impurities in water are effectively adsorbed after pyrolysis of 973 K shows pH in the alkaline
by the carbon particles and are removed from water. range (>8.2).
 ASH et al: ACTIVATED CARBON FROM COIR PITH WASTE 1011

Table 2Chemical analysis data of effluent from textile dye controlled by specific surface area and average
industries by activated carbon from coconut pith waste particle size. Smaller the size of particle, higher is the
Individual Colored effluent Colored effluent water treated adsorption capacity. AC prepared from coconut pith
elements water, mg/l with activated carbon, mg/l waste shows high decolourisation of effluent colour
Iron 0.51 0.40 water and nearly 60-70 wt% of coloring material is
Lead 0.16 0.09 removed from matrix during decolourisation using the
Zinc 0.19 0.03 column described earlier (Fig. 3). Colour removal was
Cadmium 0.03 0.03 studied calorimetrically at λmax = 450 nm and the
Chromium 0.07 0.04 experiment was carried out at a pH 10.28.
Calcium 3.53 0.77 Simultaneously, turbidity value of effluent from
87 ntu was reduced to 14 ntu.

Conclusions
AC prepared from coir pith has been observed as
an effective adsorbent for decolourisation of dye
industry effluents and removal of toxic metals from
their aqueous solutions. Thus it can be used
effectively in water treatment plants. AC prepared
from coir pith waste with phosphoric acid treatment
Fig. 3UV-Visible spectrum of dye effluents; A=before displays better decolorizing power than commercially
treatment, B=after treatment available AC. Specific surface area of coir pith AC is
higher than that of commercial grade AC. SEM
Studies on the adsorption of pollutant metal analysis shows the high porous nature of the coir pith
radicals like Cd, Pb and As from dilute solutions carbon. Thus the coir pith, which is regarded as a
showed effective reduction (from 10.0 mg/l to waste and pollutant can be converted to a value added
< 0.1 mg/l) in less than 5.0 min after passing through product-AC, which has extensive application for
a bed of AC filled in a column (internal diam 5.0 cm removing pollutants from wastes produced by various
and internal height of 20.0 cm) by drop wise manner. industries.
For this experiment, standard solution of 10 mg/l has
been prepared separately for Cd, Pb and As. Analysis Acknowledgements
was done by AAS. This study was carried out at an Authors thank Ministry of Environment and Forest,
initial metal ion solution at pH 5. Adsorption of these Govt. of India for financial support, and Director,
cations may be attributed to formation of metal RRL, Bhubaneswar for encouragement and kind
complexes at the interface of carbon particles and permission to publish the work.
release of acidic radicals to the bulk solution.
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